


The Broken-Hearted

by TwilightMaster15



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Needs a Hug, Bonding, Family Drama, Friendship, Gen, Heartbreak, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Human Plagg, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Minor Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur, Protective Gabriel, Strained Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2020-10-28 11:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 56,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20777897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightMaster15/pseuds/TwilightMaster15
Summary: Marinette makes a mistake after Desperada, which leads to Adrien having a heart attack from Broken-Heart syndrome, and then has a misunderstanding with Master Fu, leading her to believe Chat Noir is dead.While the class copes with Adrien's condition and Marinette struggles to handle the loss of both Adrien and Chat Noir, Gabriel has vowed to find the one who would dare break his son's heart, with the help of Mayura. He, with the help of his newfound ally, Nino, must also fix the damage Lila Rossi has done to Adrien's beloved school.Plagg, separated from his owner, has decided to ignore the rules and find his way back to Adrien, which is harder than one would expect, so he needs to go an extra mile and face the challenges that follow his decision. Because of this, Tikki comes to understand that limiting Plagg and his experience with his powers was a terrible mistake.





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette felt bad. She felt awful when Master Fu told her what had been done. She felt terrible that her complaints made her lose her partner.

Let's rewind. 

As of the last month or so, starting almost immediately after Desperada, Ladybug began noticing Chat Noir behaving rather strangely. He was quiet, more hesitant, and rarely flirted, and never pushed anything. At first, this came as a relief, that he maybe was finally accepting that she didn't love him. But with every Akuma, she began to notice he was becoming extremely protective over her, as though he was utterly desperate. When she asked him what was going on, he ran off in a fit of tears. 

It had been like this for a month now, so Marinette went to Master Fu, saying something was wrong with Chat, and he wouldn't open up to her.

But the next day, when she went back, she saw the Guardian had taken away the Cat Miraculous. Fu's logic was saying that Chat not opening up to her meant there was not enough trust in their relationship. 

So yes, she felt terrible, since hindsight told her his issue probably had something to do with his secret identity.

It had been a week since then, and Rena Rouge had become her partner. People were talking about how Chat Noir was a useless hero and had abandoned Ladybug. In response, she had explained to the press that he was dealing with personal issues and taking a break for his mental health.

She hoped to talk to Fu about it, but she had decided it was good Chat got a break for his mental health since he needed it.

But then she had seen Adrien again.

Adrien had come to school a month ago looking like death itself. And he had just seemed to get worse as time went by. She felt guilt since she knew he had been trying as Aspik for three months to save her, so that had to be traumatic.

As he walked in, Marinette saw the purple smudging under his eyes that seemed to be permanent. The last week had him getting thinner too.

"Hey, Adrien..." she tapped his shoulder, pushing Chat out of her head, "I have some croissants from the bakery if you want." He stared at her blankly, looking purely exhausted,

"No thanks, Marinette. Thanks for offering though..." he turned back to his bag, hesitating when he opened the bag, then weeping. Nino placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder, trying to show support. 

"Bro...you need to go home." Nino said, "You look like hell." he put a hand on Adrien's forehead, "No temperature...." 

Marinette knew that Adrien was in desperate need of help if even Lila wouldn't dare talk to him for fear of saying the wrong thing and making him worse.

Adrien sighed, putting a hand on his chest, leaning on Nino's shoulder and closing his eyes. 

Miss Bustier came in, "Alright class, turn to page 23 in your textbook."

The class went on, but Marinette was only focused on her crush, as Adrien didn't stir. She hadn't thought he would try so hard to save Ladybug. She'd tried talking to him as Ladybug, and he used to be open to it, but the last week had made him close off even more, and he wouldn't talk to her. 

During the middle of the lesson, Marinette realized Adrien had been abnormally still. She leaned and shook his slightly.

"Marinette!" Miss Bustier snapped, "Hands to yourself!" 

But when Adrien didn't respond at all, Miss Bustier got worried, "Adrien?" She then shook him, "Adrien?" Nino grew fearful and gently got Adrien out of the seat and rested him down on the ground. Everyone was afraid as Nino checked Adrien's pulse and shrieked, immediately performing CPR.

"GET THE AED!" He roared, and Alya ran to get it. Marinette was frozen as Nino turned into a full-blown medical caretaker, "Chloe, call 112, I think Adrien just had a heart attack." That got Chloe's instant attention, and she was on her phone. Alix turned to Lila,

"You said your uncle trained you on the heart. Do something!" Lila was clearly flustered,

"Nino's got a handle on it." 

"Go for it, Lila!" Rose piped in. Marinette got up and growled at them,

"And condemn Adrien to death!? Lila has no idea what she's doing!"

"Marinette, I believe you," Nino said, placed the AED pads on Adrien's bare chest and activating it, "But now is not the time." 

The ambulance arrived mere minutes later and rushed Adrien away, and Nino was just glad he had gotten Adrien's heart beating again.

But everyone had to ask now: Adrien was young and active, why did he have a heart attack?

OoOoO

When the doctor came out, Gabriel was in the waiting room, shellshocked and a blanket around him. He brightened when he saw the doctor,

"Adrien?" Dr. Malani shook her head,

"I'm sorry, Mr. Agreste." She gestured for him to come back with her, and Gabriel was shaking, fearing he would hear from the doctor that his son was dead.

"Is...Is he..?"

"He's alive. But only just. If it weren't for Mr. Lahiffe's quick-thinking, we would have lost him. But it was still too late to save him ultimately... not enough oxygen went to his brain during the heart attack, and he went comatose. With how he scored on the coma test, his chances of waking up any time soon are slim, just due to the severity of his depression and the lack of health."

"I know I've been busy, so I didn't notice anything, but what caused this? Last I checked, Adrien was a little upset, but otherwise fine." Dr. Malani nodded,

"Yes, well, it seems he has suffered from Broken Heart Syndrome, and the root of the issue was roughly a week ago judging by the strain on his heart. Before you ask, a broken heart actually can kill someone."

Broken heart. Adrien was dying from a broken heart. This sent Gabriel into a rage. Who would dare break Adrien's heart?! He'd kill them! No, not just kill, he'd make that person regret being _ born. _ Anyone who dare hurt his perfect baby deserved to burn. 

(He knew he hadn't been the best parent right now, but he was doing it so their family would be back together! Adrien would understand it all once his mother was back. He wasn't doing it to intentionally hurt his son.)

When he saw Adrien, hooked up to all those machines, he wept, seeing how weak and thin his son had become. He held Adrien's hand, biting his lip at how cold that hand was.

"Come on, son. Open your eyes..." he bowed his head, "Please."

Nathalie came in, "We can save him, sir. You know we can." He knew what she was referring to and that she wanted to be Mayura again. And...he couldn't bring himself to stop her. If it meant finding out what had broken Adrien like this, he could possibly get Ladybug and Chat Noir to come out. Altering his wish a little wouldn't take much, just say "I wish to save my family," which meant both Emilie and Adrien. Perfect! 

But that was just the backup plan because he was still firmly in favor of Adrien waking up on his own and the broken heart being that he only had an allergic reaction and his heart gave out or something obscure like that.

But still wondered who would dare break Adrien's golden heart. He'd have to ask Mr. Lahiffe since apparently, the so-called lousy influence had saved Adrien's life.

OoOoO

When Marinette heard from Nathalie that Adrien had a heart attack due to a broken heart, she rushed to Master Fu to see if he knew a way to save Adrien, since a broken heart could hopefully be cured with magic.

She did not expect the Guardian to stumble backward at the news and start packing, "Master? Why are you packing?" She watched as the Guardian gave her everything related to the Miraculous, fingering the Cat Miraculous.

"Marinette, Gabriel Agreste is going to start a manhunt to find the person who broke his son's heart. I fear that search will come to the Guardian of the Miraculous, or maybe even Ladybug herself."

Oh, right. Aspik and the 25,913 fails were probably the reason behind it, which made her feel even worse. She sighed, "Chat really is a good guy, just give him some time to cope, and give him the ring."

"I fear it's too late for that, Marinette." Master Fu said, a tear falling, "I didn't know when I took the ring that his kwami had been his floating therapist and lifeline..." he looked at Marinette, who started shaking at the implications.

"A-Are you saying he...he actually..." Master Fu nodded somberly.

"I'm truly sorry, Marinette, that you had to find out this way."

"NO! It's not true! It can't be!" She ran out of the massage shop. It was pouring rain like it was reflecting her mood, and she fell to her knees at the foot of the statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir together. Oh, how he had smiled when the sculptor had asked for a picture as a base for this. He used to smile all the time.

Had he really been thinking about suicide? Were those self-loathing thoughts was what he had been preoccupied with...and she just ripped away his last lifeline, and now he had gone through with it.

She tried to imagine a world without Adrien. Then a world without Chat Noir. Both of those was a world she didn't want to live in, but now she might experience both if Adrien died.

But it was her fault, she'd lost Chat Noir, forever. She wanted to turn back time and tell him how loved he was, and how sorry she was for not seeing the signs. And how had she not seen the signs? She'd watched him slip away, and instead of sitting him down and disregarding secret identities in favor of his health, she went and complained to Master Fu and now he was gone. 

"Oh chaton," she wept, running her hand along the lines of his name carved in stone, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. I should have...we could have gotten through this together, you know."

What had been his final thoughts? Was there anyone except her who would mourn him? She'd suspected his home life wasn't great from little comments he made, but not bad enough for death to be a better choice. 

She remembered Plagg, who had seemed the protective type when it came to his owners. Did he know Chat was dead?

She didn't realize she had curled into a ball in the downpour until she heard faint footsteps, "Dupain-Cheng?" Marinette looked up and saw Chloe standing there in a fancy raincoat with a bejeweled umbrella, "What are you doing out here?" She helped Marinette up, keeping her under the umbrella,

"I just got some distressing news to add on top to the Adrien thing. Don't laugh, but I just found out someone very close to me commit suicide." She expected Chloe to scoff, not to be pulled close into a hug,

"Come on, let's get you inside. We can't have any more classmates suffering from broken hearts, now can we? Just more people Lila can be a shoulder to cry on for." She took off her raincoat and wrapped it around Marinette, revealing she was wearing her winter attire under the rain jacket.

"Why are you kind to me?" Marinette asked quietly as they walked, "Why are you even out here?" Chloe hesitated,

"Well, it's been a guilty pleasure of mine to walk in the rain. Takes my mind off things, listening to the water bounce off my umbrella. Then I saw you bawling your eyes out muttering apologies, and I had to investigate. As to why I'm being nice, I'm Queen Bee, a superheroine, so that's my job. Where would our class be without everyday Ladybug out with pneumonia? And...I can't imagine how I would feel if I heard about losing Sabrina and then add on Adrien having a heart attack." She tensed, "This doesn't mean we're friends, just that you're not the worst thing ever, and I have grown past enjoying your suffering."

Somehow, that felt really good to hear. Perhaps Marinette could give Chloe a different Miraculous. If she got to continue being a superhero, Chloe would understand why she couldn't be Queen Bee anymore and make that mistake of revealing herself.

They got back to the hotel, and Chloe put Marinette in the bath with hot water.

"Damnit..." Chloe muttered, "You're already running a fever." As the rest of Marinette's bare body warmed up, Chloe put a cold compress on the bluenette's forehead.

When she was done, Chloe wrapped Marinette in a bathrobe.

"Don't think this is special treatment. This robe is so last season." She got some blankets and got Marinette comfortable on the couch, "You're leaving in the morning."

Marinette smiled, resting her head on the pillow, "Thanks, Chloe."

She tried to sleep, but it was not restful. Exhaustion and drain was the only reason she had slept at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Nino hadn't expected any of this. Hadn't wanted any of this. 

He had watched as Adrien got worse and worse, hating himself for being unable to see what the root of the problem was. He brought food and music and anything he could. He even took Adrien to his mother, a doctor, in secret. But it had been brushed off as saying the model life was taking a toll and he needed more rest. 

And for a while, Nino accepted that as the culprit. Until one day Adrien broke down and revealed everything with Aspik, saying he couldn't take the guilt anymore, nor could he bottle it up anymore. This led Nino to reveal himself as Carapace, just to show that he did understand, and remembered his failure during the Heroes' Day when he got akumatized.

For a little bit, that revelation, and having someone to talk to about it made Adrien start coming back to himself. But it was only for a couple days before he became sad again, saying he was still a failure.

Things stayed like that for a while, with Nino watching Adrien fade away and doing everything he could to stop it. But it was hard to help someone who was quickly closing himself off. 

The worst part was Adrien used to wear makeup to hide his pale skin and the smudges under his eyes. Nino had spotted it one day and forcefully wiped it off, seeing what his best friend was hiding.

_ "Talk to me, Adrien."  _ He had begged,  _ "Please. I hate seeing you like this." _

_ "Then, don't look. I'll probably just fail you too." _

Even thinking about it now made Nino's blood run cold. And he had noticed the change over that week as Adrien went from bad to worse until he collapsed.

As of now, Chloe was in denial about what had happened, refusing to believe anyone broke Adrien's heart. There was also the interesting note Nino discovered that Mrs. Agreste used to get sick often, and this had Chloe thinking this was a genetic issue.

In a way, Nino hoped it was a genetic thing. Because then he wouldn't be so blind as to not see someone hurt his best friend like that. But honestly, who would? Every single girl in Paris was in love with him, by the looks of it even Ladybug, so rejection wasn't likely. Maybe a close family member? Perhaps there had been news on his Mom?

Marinette had been out with pneumonia for days, with a high fever and Nino had no idea how she got it. Chloe knew, and he could tell, but she had just told everyone to shove off and not pressure Marinette to tell.

He'd gone to visit her, and she gave him a box with her earrings in it, saying to give them to Alya for whatever reason. Alya had said it was a best friend thing, and since Nino respected bro-code he didn't push.

But he certainly didn't expect to be brought to the Agreste Mansion and sat in front of Gabriel Agreste.

"So," Gabriel said from where he stood at the window, "I hear I have you to thank for saving Adrien's life." Nino froze, nodding meekly,

"I just used CPR and an AED...I took emergency preparedness classes after Heroes' Day...so I am certified if that's your worry, sir." To his surprise, Gabriel turned with a slight smile,

"Perhaps I was mistaken about you, Mr. Lahiffe. Maybe you aren't a terrible influence on my son. This is why I wanted to ask you some questions." That got Nino's undivided attention,

"I'll answer anything I can unless I've promised not to tell." Gabriel nodded to himself, and Natalie was on her tablet sitting next to him,

"In the last week, have you noticed a change in Adrien's behavior?"

"Week? More like the last month. Something happened involving an Akuma, and it really shook his self-confidence." The best lies always held a kernel of truth, something Lila needed to learn, and Nino was less lying and more omitting. He'd promised not to tell about Aspik, but he wouldn't hide that there was something, "He's been really struggling, using makeup to hide his condition. I took him to my mother, who is a doctor, and she said it was his model life taking a toll. I believed her at first and tried feeding him and making sure he knew I was there for him. But especially in that last week, he had been so much worse, not talking to us at all. Not even Lie-la the sexual predator dare go near him, lest she say the wrong thing and send him over the edge."

"Wait, what?" Sudden fear was on Gabriel's face, and Nino saw this as his chance to get Lila out of their lives. He knew that girl was a liar, and after a little bit, he was working with Marinette to take her down, since her lies were a big deal now and hurting others.

"Oh yeah, she's been doing everything she can to get in his pants. She tried to get Marinette expelled too. She likes to touch Adrien places, and when we had a party at the school for Alya, she brought spiked punch and pot-brownies. It was tough to get an intoxicated Adrien away from her and back here. And yes, we brought him back to the mansion immediately when we realized what had happened. She tried to say Adrien just had an allergic reaction, but I tested them and found drugs." He pulled out his phone and showed Gabriel some pictures of Lila trying to touch Adrien inappropriately, and even a video of Adrien drunk and high with Lila trying to get him into the locker room. "Please don't lock Adrien up again for this, he has no memory of this since he was black-out drunk, but do talk to the school about why they let her lie with every breath and never check her stories. I want Adrien to be free, but I do admit that Lila's actions frightened me." 

As the best friend, it was a double-edged sword. He wanted Adrien to be happy, but he also wanted Adrien to be safe. With his model life, that made him even more in danger when rapists were involved. So here he was, coming up with a compromise with Adrien's protective father. Besides, the school was in desperate need to a reality check.

Gabriel was pale as a sheet, watching the video on loop, "I...Lila said she was going to protect Adrien from you and Marinette, who were bad influences." He watched as the part came up where Marinette forced Lila away from Adrien and gently guided him out of the school with Alya.

"Yeah? Well, she wants him for his body and nothing more." Nino crossed his arms, "Look, if you needed someone to take care of Adrien and keep him safe during school, I would gladly take up the job. I'd do anything to keep him safe and happy." To his pleasant shock, Gabriel nodded,

"I do suppose Adrien's best friend is the better option as a protector. And I assume you've been keeping him away from Ms. Rossi."

"Yeah! Naturally! I also gave him pepper spray and told him that if anybody touches him like she does and he doesn't like it, spray them without hesitation." 

Gabriel turned to Nathalie, "Why didn't we think of that?" He looked back to Nino, "Consider yourself hired. But you have to sign this," he handed Nino a form, "Basically if you hurt Adrien or I have reason to believe you are like what you claim of Ms. Rossi, I am going to sue you. This is just a waiver saying you acknowledge that. Not like a falling out, that wouldn't get you hurt because that is sometimes a natural part of life, but if you hurt him intentionally, you will pay." Nino signed it without hesitation since he had no reason not to.

"Deal. So is Lila fired?"

"Yes. I still can't believe she would..."

"Maybe do a background check on your Adrien-protectors." He snapped, appalled with himself for being okay with telling off Adrien's rich father. But Gabriel actually seemed to like it, hearing new ways to keep Adrien safe, and looking to acknowledge that Lila only had the balls to try that since she was supposedly protecting Adrien, so maybe she would have tried defending herself in saying he needed to know what to look for. Or the worse option she would have told Gabriel that Marinette made those brownies to...

He shook himself when he heard Gabriel asked if Adrien had any romantic interests, to which the answer was no other than a slight crush on Marinette that he was too blind to acknowledge, but Marinette would never in a million years reject him, and she would have been the first to help him if he had gotten his heart broken by a girl. Adrien was beloved by all, and that news made Gabriel happy.

"Well...Chloe was saying it might be genetic from Mrs. Agreste..." he immediately saw Gabriel's demeanor change.

"No. Emilie was ill, but it wasn't genetic. You don't need to know details, but there is no way Adrien has what Emilie had."

Nino thought about this, "Any news about her? Maybe he heard something."

"Nothing new about her. She's still missing." Okay...

"May I be permitted to have visitation rights for Adrien? Maybe as his friend who sees him daily, I would notice something you hadn't."

"That's not a bad idea, sir," Nathalie said from where she sat. Gabriel stood up, helping Nino to his feet,

"Very well. You and Nathalie shall go to the hospital while I have a chat with Ms. Rossi. Here's my phone number if you need me." Nino was given a small piece of paper and put the number in his phone as he and Gorilla went to the hospital.

Adrien was in a special hospital room, which had a waiting room inside the very place! There were gifts and get well cards and such in the broader area, but where Adrien was sleeping was utterly blank. Keeping him away from the fanmail, Nino supposed.

He sat down at Adrien's bedside, placing a blue seashell on the nightstand.

"Hey, Adrien..." he said quietly, hoping his friend could hear him, "I know it's been a little bit, but I got here as soon as I was allowed." He sighed, watching the heart monitor go up and down in a weak yet rhythmic fashion, "What happened, bro? What was so bad that it broke your heart?" Adrien wouldn't answer, he knew that, but there was a small part of him still praying for a miracle.

He went on to talk about what had gone on in the last week since Adrien had a heart attack, and how everyone wanted to plan a party when he got back, but Lila wouldn't be there. He then played some of Adrien's favorite music, hoping there would be at least a little reaction.

He grasped Adrien's hand and frowned, noticing the silver ring he always wore was gone. Usually, this wouldn't mean much since they were in a hospital, and personal belongings were often removed from the patient and put in a bin. But when Nino thought about it, had Adrien been wearing the ring in the last week? No, he hadn't...

_"Chat Noir did not abandon me."_ Ladybug had said, _"He is taking temporary leave for his mental health since he is human, just like all of you. And the more you bully your hero, calling him weak and pathetic like you do, the longer he will be gone. The last thing we want is for your wretched behavior to get him akumatized."_

Nino gasped as the pieces clicked. Something told him either Adrien hadn't understood losing the ring was temporary, or Ladybug was lying about what happened. But it had happened in the last week, and losing his kwami would be a severe enough loss to drive him over the edge! This was it!

Adrien was Chat Noir. 

He felt terrible for Adrien, but he was relieved to finally know what had sent him over the edge. And this explained why his failure as Aspik hurt him so deeply. 

He wouldn't tell Gabriel about this, not in a million years, he would take Adrien's secret to his grave. But now he had a lead to what had happened. Gabriel would fix the school issues, and Nino would fix the Miraculous ones.

Step one: talk to Ladybug.

OoOoO

Gabriel watched the video again as Lila walked through the door. He should have known from that photo she posted after lying her way into the mansion. He'd thought he could control her if he gave her a little fame, and then she'd expose herself. But apparently, she wanted Adrien. In every photo Nino sent him of Lila's appalling behavior, Adrien looked uncomfortable.

Lila frowned, "You wanted to see me, Mr. Agreste?" Gabriel growled, showing her all the photos and the video.

"Explain." Lila froze,

"Marinette made those brownies! She told me Adrien would like them! I didn't know he would..." Gabriel shook his head,

"Here's the thing, Lila. I would believe you if I did not have countless other pictures of you trying to get to him. This is not protecting him. I am replacing you with someone else. If you go near Adrien like this as anything more than a normal classmate, you will regret it."

"Adrien's in love with Ladybug!" Lila screeched, "If he had a heart attack from a broken heart, she probably is the culprit!" Gabriel froze, pondering this. But he still held up a restraining order.

"You are not to go within five feet of Adrien, by the law of Paris." Lila's demeanor became cold,

"You'll regret this." She stormed off, and Gabriel went into Adrien's room, very quickly realizing Lila was right about that. 

Adrien was in love with Ladybug. Broken heart...

Ladybug broke his son's heart.

Now, he already hated that bug-themed heroine. But for her to not only be delaying the return of his wife, and very nearly kill his perfect son...

He'd been ignoring negative emotions the last week since there were so many, but also didn't want to risk hitting an Adrien fangirl.

He continued to think when he felt that powerful emotion he had been feeling all week. He regretted having forced Adrien out of the Moth's reach by ignoring his negative feelings to the point they stopped appearing. But this one...loss of Adrien and the suicide of a dear friend.

He was torn. On the one hand, that would be his strongest Akuma yet, but he wasn't a monster. Taking advantage of someone mourning a suicide was a low he hadn't been willing to reach.

Until now, since Ladybug needed to be  _ destroyed _ .

Transforming in his bedroom, he sent the Akuma out to one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"Heartbreak, I am Hawk Moth. I am giving you the power to make all of Paris feel your pain and that of your lost friends. In return, you will bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."

_ "P...Please no...Please...he wouldn't want that..." _

It was those words that broke him, releasing the Akuma from the girl. How broken she was...he decided to go for someone else. 

But that "please" still rang in his head.

Hm...he supposed he could go after Mr. Pidgeon again. If not to just let off some steam. He'd find someone better than that. And how would Adrien react if he found out Hawk Moth had taken advantage of his vulnerable friend? 

So Marinette got a pass, for now at least.

OoOoO

Marinette was shocked Hawk Moth had released the Akuma. Her negative emotions were so powerful, how had he not jumped right on that? At least Alya would be Ladybug for right now, just in case.

She missed Tikki, but it was for the best. Maybe she too needed a mental health break.

And she had a temperature of 38.9 Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) and was coughing her lungs out. 

She held her Chat Noir plushie she'd made, holding it up and putting it next to her picture of Adrien.

"You two would have loved each other," she said to the doll, pretending it was Chat, "maybe you could have helped each other..." she cried again, ignoring how it made breathing hard, "Why did you leave me? Why was I so dumb?"

There was a hole in her chest, and she feared it would never fill back in. Even if Adrien woke up, Chat was still gone.

Her classmates had feared she would also have a heart attack, but she knew it wasn't a common thing. Possible, but she doubted it.

_ "Why do you cry, M'Lady?" _ She could have sworn she heard Chat's voice, which sounded much like Adrien's voice. She knew now that she was going insane, but she answered,

"Because I'm lost without you," she whispered, "And I don't know the way anymore." Silence, "Chat?" Nothing. She sighed, going back to sleep and letting her illness force her into unconsciousness.

OoOoO

Plagg blinked a few times as he was pulled out of his slumber in the ring. He tried to remember how he had gotten there, but then remembered...

_ "Adrien Agreste, you are no longer worthy of the Cat Miraculous. With your mental state, you are a danger to yourself and others."  _

That made him snap awake. He was face-to-face with Fu.

"You're wrong about him. You're the one who let Ladybug give him the snake!" Master Fu sighed,

"I know, Plagg."

"Then fix this!" Plagg looked out the window on the van, then to the front, which said it had been two weeks. He froze as the Guardian sighed,

"Plagg...I didn't know just how important you were to Adrien. This was a mistake. I took the Miraculous because I thought he was no longer trustworthy for Ladybug, and so he could take a break for his mental health. If I had known he was so close to..." Plagg was shaking,

"What happened to Adrien?"

"He...had a heart attack. Heartbreak. He's been comatose for the last week." He back up a bit as Plagg started shaking, a living ball of death and destruction, his tears burning holes in the van they sat in. 

"Plagg! Stop!" Fu pleaded, knowing that if Plagg lost his temper, the whole world would pay for it if Pompeii said anything. He put on the ring, "Stop! Now!" Plagg had no choice but to stop, but then he spoke.

"Do you know how many of my owners had abused me and my power? Every. Single. One. Adrien is the first one I had to understand and care about me. He fixed me too, and you just went and killed him."

"He's not dead, Plagg. But we need to get out of Paris before someone realizes who Adrien was. Gabriel will go on a manhunt, and then that could—"

"Reunite me with Adrien? And this is all just your paranoia talking."

"You are the kwami of destruction, surely you must understand needing to get out of Paris." Plagg then went feral,

"If being the kwami of destruction means you rip me away from those I care about, then I won't be a kwami _ at all _ !" He did the unthinkable:

He used Cataclysm on his own ring.

"PLAGG NO!" 

There was an explosion, and it was nothing short of a miracle that Fu lived. Plagg knew that without the ring, he was free to use all of his powers, so he molded himself, morphing, changing DNA until a teenage boy was laying in the grass just outside of Paris where a van once was.

"What have you done, Plagg?" Fu breathed, looking at the cracked and blackened ring, "Do you realize how long it will take to fix this?!" Plagg sat up, looking at himself. He had tan skin on the darker side, black hair, green eyes, and was wearing a grey sweater and black jeans.

"Yeah, I know. Fortunately, I morphed my DNA to be that of Gabriel Agreste's illegitimate bastard son."

"What?!" Plagg gave the Guardian a feline grin,

"I'm free now! It will take months for you to fix the ring. And look on the bright side, there is no Miraculous for Hawk Moth to use. And this is the best way to worm my way into the Agreste mansion and see Adrien."

Master Fu sighed, "It's pointless to try stopping you."

"Yup."

"Very well." Fu crossed his arms, "You have three months until the ring is fixed. In that time, you are not to talk to me or go near me and reveal your powers to anyone. If Adrien wakes up and recovers a bit, I will give him back the ring. But if you really go the route of being Gabriel's illegitimate son, you better come up with a lie to explain suddenly leaving." He held out a hand, "Do we have a deal?"

Plagg shook the man's hand, "Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thing with Lila drugging Adrien actually happened at my school with a friend of mine. This fanfic is in a slightly more realistic setting, and Lila is the type of person to try doing that. And this school is still painfully dumb, since it's the same at my school: murder and rape run through the halls, but god forbid you have gum.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel was sitting bedside with Adrien when the boy had come in. He looked up wearily, 

"Who are you, and what do you want?" He asked, "I haven't permitted Adrien to have any visitors other than myself, my assistant, Adrien's bodyguard, and his best friend." The boy looked sheepish, and about two years older than Adrien himself, which placed the youth at roughly seventeen. He handed Gabriel an envelope,

"I..." he said quietly, and, "I'm Cole..."

Gabriel opened the envelope and froze.

A DNA test.

Lillian Willis: Mother

Victor Agreste: Father

Now, Gabriel felt smug while looking at this. He had always told his older brother that the sleeping around would lead to an army of illegitimate children. The only reason he didn't doubt this a lot was since he'd been expecting to hear about something like this every time Victor called. 

"Mama gave me this." Cole said, "She passed on, sir. I'm gonna be eighteen in a couple months, but I just need a place to stay until then, since Father doesn't want anything to do with me. I don't want to be a bother." Gabriel softened a tad bit,

"Who was the doctor to give you this?"

"Dr. Chan, sir. I can give you the number." He handed Gabriel a piece of paper with a phone number, which Gabriel called on facetime, finding the person on the other side was in an office. Good sign.

"Yes? Dr. Chan speaking."

"Were you the one to give a DNA test to Cole Willis?" Dr. Chan looked at Cole,

"Yes," Gabriel asked a few more questions, and once he hung up, did a background check and saw this was a legit doctor, meaning this boy was very likely his nephew.

He knew Adrien had always wanted a sibling, being a relatively lonely child. Since Gabriel didn't have the best relationship with his brother, they never visited for holidays, so Adrien barely knew his legitimate cousin, Felix. 

He looked to Cole, who didn't look as nervous anymore, wordlessly sitting next to Adrien, "I'm glad I met him in person." Gabriel frowned,

"Huh?" Cole pulled out a piece of paper, which had printed e-mails, saying that Adrien and Cole had known each other for at least a couple months.

"I met him online, saying he was having a rough time and needed some advice. I listened, and we became friends. Just a stroke of luck I guess that he's my cousin.

Gabriel folded the paper, pocketing it, "Cole, to the world, are my ward instead of my nephew, just to keep you safe from the Agreste name, which I have recently learned has given Adrien more trouble than expected and the only reason I don't pull him out of school on the spot is fear of losing him."

"Fine." Cole relaxed in his seat, "So what's going on with Adrien? I just got here from Tibet, so I'm clueless other than a heart attack."

"He got heartbroken by someone, my leading theory is Ladybug. He's in a coma." He said this bluntly since he had no real relationship with his apparent nephew. If he weren't now legally obligated to give this kid shelter, he'd send Cole out on the streets. But maybe having some more family would help Adrien recover, and this was a person who knew at least a little of Adrien's struggles.

Cole frowned, "Ladybug? Okay then..." he looked at Adrien, who looked like a corpse, "Any clue on when he'll wake up?"

"No." What he wasn't telling Cole was that Adrien seemed to be getting worse as time went by, and the doctor said Adrien wasn't able to respond to stimuli, so he couldn't hear them. He was slipping away because he wasn't fighting to live.

He groaned as his phone went off. It was Audrey, probably to discuss the new line, since she didn't care at all that Adrien was in the hospital in a coma and had been for ten days.

"I need to go. Nathalie will drive you back to the mansion."

"Can I stay here for a bit? We are family, after all." Sighing, Gabriel shrugged,

"Don't try anything." He left, too emotionally drained to really process his anger. He was just tired. He hadn't even gotten to talking to the school yet.

...

Once he was alone, Plagg smirked at how his plan had worked flawlessly. He and Fu had decided the son route wasn't the best, so going through with his brother who did have a history of women screaming, filing lawsuits, and saying they were pregnant with his child. More often than not, this was them trying to get a crack at Gabriel's fortune through his brother, but it had been easy for Plagg to change DNA a little and fake a test already done. And it would come back identical if Gabriel got another one done. Even better that one of Fu's old secret identities to hide being the guardian was that of a doctor.

Now he was in the mansion and had access to Adrien.

He ran a hand through Adrien's hair. It was strange to be using hands that were the size of his former body, but he was getting used to it. After all, he'd had to walk here. He wasn't human right now, more metahuman since he had the same powers as Chat Noir, plus an extremely OP cataclysm and an assortment of other nifty destruction powers.

"Adrien, I know it's been too long." He said, his voice thick with tears, "But I came back as soon as I could. That old man should have known separating us was a mistake..." he wanted for the movies to be right, and for his presence to be enough to wake Adrien up. But even if him being here pulled Adrien back, he'd need Tikki's healing to heal the damage done so he could also respond.

He brightened. Tikki! Tikki was the key! He knew where Marinette was, so he could go get Tikki, and she would heal Adrien!

The shifting took a lot of energy out of him, especially to hold it for long periods, it drained him just as much as maintaining a transformation for his owners.

Still, he managed to morph himself into Chat Noir. This would also help with keeping people from guessing Adrien and Chat were one and the same.

He ran to the bakery, making sure to hide at least a little for safety, and peeked into Marinette's skylight, where he saw her coughing, clearly feverish. He let himself in,

"Marinette?" Marinette jolted up, her eyes wide.

"C-Chat...You...This is a dream. There's no way you're here." Plagg cocked his head playfully, 

"It's not Chat. It's me, Plagg! Can I talk to Tikki?" He frowned when she looked as though her heart got ripped from her chest, and she hugged her pillow, "You okay?"

"You really got my hopes up...I thought maybe Fu had been wrong..."

"He's wrong about a lot of things if the guardian temple incident says anything. But what was he wrong about this time? Separating Chat and me?" He knew that since he was free, he could say Adrien. Maybe he should, but Tikki would murder him for all the rules he had broken in the last three days as it was.

"He said that...that Chat wasn't around anymore." Plagg frowned, sitting down. Now, he didn't know she thought it was suicide. He assumed she maybe suspected Adrien's identity and the fact he was in a coma. After all, Fu would have just told her, right, if she had gone to him about this stuff? 

"Well, he's not. But that doesn't mean he's gone for good. It's not like he's dead." Marinette then brightened again,

"He's not dead?" Oh...maybe, there was a misunderstanding. But her thinking her partner was dead would help nobody.

"He's in the hospital, unconscious, but he's alive. In a fit of rage, I may have destroyed my ring, but it will be fixed in a couple months. So I shall work to get him back to his cheerful self. But anyways, Tikki?"

"I sent Tikki to my friend, just in case I got akumatized. Alya." Plagg went to leave, but she grabbed his hand, coughing a little, "Thank you for letting me know he's alive."

"No problem." Plagg jumped off into the night, running to go find Tikki.

He saw Tikki explaining to Alya that Marinette had been the original choice as backup Ladybug while real Ladybug was on leave, but she was ill, so Alya was the second choice as Rena Rouge. 

He hopped in, "Hey, sugarcube! It's your favorite stinky sock!" Tikki was appalled, and Alya confused.

"Plagg! What are you doing taking the form of your cat?! How are you even doing that?!"

"Well...in a fit of rage I may have destroyed my Miraculous."

"WHAT?!" Tikki immediately flew out the window to talk with him, "What have you done, Plagg?!"

"Fu wanted me to leave Paris, and therefore Adrien! With his current state, I refuse to leave him. Gabriel thinks I'm his bastard nephew under the name Cole Willis. Marinette now knows Chat Noir is alive. But why does she think he's dead?"

"Fu was very unclear when telling her what happened. She thought he took his own life."

"Well, at least I clarified that he's alive and in the hospital. But Tikki, I didn't come here so you could murder me. I came here because I want you to heal Adrien. He's fading, I can tell. He's either not fighting, or his attempts are in vain. This is Fu's fault, so it is our job as kwamis to fix it." Tikki hesitated, and he joked, "I could always destroy the earrings, so you and I get some free time together." Tikki smacked him, but it didn't do much since he could hold her in his hand,

"How are you even taking a form?!"

"I'm a god, Tikki. You are too. If I want to, I can. Just because the ring made it possible for the weaker ones, we are the strongest beings in existence. And I may have consumed human blood and pulled a Ponyo." 

Tikki gave a long-suffering sigh, "You are an idiot. But I will admit that since Adrien is your only good owner and Fu has admittedly mistreated him, I can see why you're doing this. How long until the ring is fixed?

"Three months supposedly. Just enough time to be forced back into a cat form just as I get the hang of being human." He gave her a thumbs-up, "So can you heal Adrien?" Tikki sighed,

"I'm guessing that if I don't, you will accidentally cause another bubonic plague epidemic." Yeah...remember that ice chick in _ Frozen _ ? What was her name...Elsa? Plagg has _ less _ control of his death powers when he's not bound in the ring than that snowflake did during most of the movie.

"Probably."

"Fine." Tikki groaned, following Plagg to the hospital, where it was easy to sneak in. Please note the sun had long since set at this point, so Plagg knew he should be heading back soon. But there was still so much of Paris to see, things to do, Adrien to save.

They crept into Adrien's room and waited until a nurse stopped moving him around on the bed. This was done to keep his blood flowing, but it was still weird to watch.

Tikki looked down at Adrien, "Healing him all in one night would get you revealed, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Just make sure Adrien can hear me and can fight for himself. Maybe have him show signs of waking up tonight, but actually, wake up in a couple days?" Tikki nodded,

"Yeah. Full-healing could damage his memory too, best to let him wake up on his own with some help." She placed a hand on Adrien's forehead, and color returned to his face, and his eyelids fluttered.

"Good. Thanks, sugarcube." Tikki smiled a little, in a way he knew all too well, that she was telling him he had royally fucked up.

"You know, I sensed that something was going on with you. I just assumed you were in a mood and closing yourself off. I did not think you decided to unleash yourself. Just don't....kill anybody."

"I'll try. But if Fu messes up one more time, he might be the first target."

OoOoO

As Cole, Plagg found he had no choice but to go to school. Also model. Apparently, since Gabriel wanted to give Adrien a break once he woke up, it was his payment for staying. Standing still was not a friend, but if it meant more time for Adrien to recover, he could deal with it. Didn't say he liked it. 

He had no idea where anything was, just that Gabriel told him that he was to work with Adrien's best friend to tear apart and fix the school. Well, tearing things apart was Plagg's specialty so...

He plowed straight into Chloe.

"Watch where you're going!" Chloe snapped, and Plagg noted the normally snobby girl wasn't wearing makeup, and her eyes were puffy. She must be taking Adrien's condition really hard. Hell, everybody here looked like they were grieving, as though it was only a matter of time before they got news of their friend's death. 

"Sorry." He played with his gloves. They didn't help control his powers, but if they were destroyed, he would know he needed to calm down lest things get worse, "Hey...are you in Miss Bustier's class? I'm Cole, a new student. I'll only be here until I graduate, but I skipped a grade, so I need my 10th-grade credits." Lies, but Chloe didn't need to know that. The truth was that Gabriel put him in this class so he could take care of any threats to Adrien. 

Apparently, Gabriel and Nino had come to the understanding that Adrien being pulled out would make him slip further away, but they also wanted to make sure he was safe. So the compromise was that they fixed the idiotic system.

Chloe frowned, "Oh...they're replacing Adrien already. Good to know." She scoffed, "It's upstairs and to the left. Try not to trip on anything else." He nodded, going up the stairs and sitting in the back. He remembered from when Lila first came that the seating chart would be moved only if Lila spoke.

God, he hated that girl. When he had first learned of her, he had figured she was just a normal girl. Then she drugged Adrien and convinced everyone he just had an allergic reaction added on to a sugar-high. Now he hated her guts. 

The rest of the class came in, followed by the teacher. He was surprised Nino came to sit in the back with him,

"I assume you're Cole, Gabriel's ward." Plagg nodded,

"Kind of." Nino was somebody he could trust. He whispered, "It's me, Plagg. Adrien's kwami." Nino lurched back in a manner that had Plagg knowing he knew about the Chat Noir secret. He knew Nino knew about Aspik, so he could have assumed it was the snake, but the look in his eyes told Plagg that this boy knew everything.

They spoke in hushed whispers,

"What happened to make Adrien lose the ring."

"I think Fu is racist against non-Asians, so has some vendetta against him. No clue why, but it was like he was eager to take the ring. So I destroyed the ring so it will take a couple months for him to fix, and channeled all my power into taking a physical form, which is harder than it has been in many millennia. If I suddenly disappear, I'm drained and will be back when I've had cheese."

"Alright, then. I'm just going to call you Cole, so I don't slip up."

"Good plan. I had my twin sister, Ladybug's kwami, heal Adrien, so hopefully, he will be awake in a few days." Nino smiled,

"Good. We should go check on him later. Lunch?"

"Yeah." He frowned, looking to where Alya sat alone, "Why aren't you sitting with her?"

"She believes Lila, all of it. And she's been pretty needy, as you remember from the wax museum. She wouldn't let me go without her, but she refused to go without Marinette, who couldn't go without Manon. This led to a misunderstanding with Adrien coming to the conclusion Marinette hates him. I had hoped all of his friends there would cheer him up, and after a little give him and Marinette some space to clear up their misunderstanding, then we all get back into a group. But that went downhill. I wish I could have just told Alya I was going alone, be there as a best friend. Maybe he thought I valued Alya more than him..."

"It's okay." Plagg assured, "He's going to wake up, and you can clear everything up. When we're done, the school is going to be good, Adrien safe and recovered."

"How are you so confident he will be okay?" Nino asked, "You were around him more, but from what I saw, I was terrified of losing him forever."

"Yeah, well I've known him a grand total of one day longer than you. And I spend all day every day with him. If he gets proper help and the misunderstandings ironed out, he'll have a cleaner recovery. We just need to give him time."

"You're probably right, being the ancient being around here. I am honestly excited for the day Lila claims to be Rena Rouge, and Alya drags her ass." Plagg chuckled at the idea as Lila sat next to Alya and proceeded to scream about how Marinette spread lies, and it got Gabriel to file a restraining order so Lila could no longer be near "her dear friend, Adrien."

"I can't believe Marinette would do such a thing." Someone Plagg recognized as Juleka said. But he decided to start his reformations of the class' idiocy now.

"Me neither, especially since the last eleven days have had her extremely sick in bed with pneumonia." Yeah, she was not doing too hot, but hopefully, her knowing Chat Noir was alive would give her an extra boost to fight off the infection. But he would take her to the hospital if she wasn't getting better by the time Adrien woke up. 

"How would you know that?" Alya asked, and Nino raised his hand,

"I just told him. He wanted to know why Alya was sitting alone." They all accepted that just fine. But nobody believed in Marinette's innocence. Plagg felt his gloves turn to dust, and he took deep breaths to calm himself, seeing his hands and forearms had turned charcoal black. Nino saw this and wisely backed away.

And then Lila just...vanished. A hole opened up under her, and she fell right through.

"Crap," Plagg muttered, knowing he had just lost control and used one of his powers to banish Lila to the void. Everyone started screaming, and Nino clearly knew it was Plagg's doing.

"Cole, you look faint, I'm gonna take you to the nurse." He dragged Plagg out, sitting him down in the bathroom after bolting the door shut, "What just happened?"

"I accidentally banished Lila to the void of death and darkness." Nino ran his hands through his short hair,

"When Gabriel said I was going to have someone help me get rid of Lila, this is not what I thought he meant." 

"Tikki knows how to pull people back from the void." Plagg offered, "She's never gonna let me hear the end of this." Speak of the devil, Tikki flew in,

"PLAGG, WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"I banished Lila to the void. Please get her back." Tikki groaned,

"Plagg, I love you to death, but this is why we kept you on a short leash. I wouldn't normally be so mad, but you have the power of death and have no idea how to handle it! And now you're running loose trying to be a normal human boy."

"So can you get Lila back?" Nino asked. Tikki nodded,

"Yes, but she will be very shaken by the ordeal." Her eyes lit up for a second, and she smiled, flying off.

Plagg turned to Nino, "Hey, maybe I could banish her there every time she lies, to train her out of it."

"I believe that is called educational brainwashing." Nino said with a shudder, "And that is a low I am not ready to stoop to."

"Why is it bad?"

"Because it's a crime against humanity."

"Or is it?" Plagg asked with an unstable sweetness. Nino shook his head,

"No, it really is." He sat down on the floor with Plagg, "Being human is different than being a god. You need to follow the rules, and not just destroy anyone who annoys you. If you're not able to do that, you need to stay away from here." Plagg nodded,

"I can do that. Might take practice." He looked down at this Gabriel Agreste fashion clothes, "These clothes itch horribly." Nino then got a bright idea and pulled out a laser pointer, laughing as Plagg was immediately taken over by his cat side.

"Well, I'll use that if you lose control." Plagg grinned,

"This might work!" Nino nodded,

"I hope so."

OoOoO

Marinette couldn't believe what Plagg had told her. Chat Noir was alive! He had survived his suicide attempt.

It was like a massive weight off her chest, knowing that she had a second chance to set things right with him, show him just how loved he was, and that it was worth it to live. She may have her heart set on Adrien, but Chat deserved someone who loved him with all their heart.

She decided to actively work to get better, instead of just lazing in bed and doing her homework when it came in from a friend. She wanted to find him, see him. Secret identities be damned, she needed to help him.

She'd get better, then look in that entire hospital for him, in every single room, if she had to. She knew with the ring destroyed, she had to find him as a civilian because the last eighteen days had been hell, so another three months was unimaginable.

"I'll find you, kitty." She vowed to her Chat Noir plushie, "I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

No matter how they acted, the entire class doubted Marinette had been the one to get a restraining order against Lila. She had been out with pneumonia since Adrien had a heart attack. According to Chloe, moving her to the bakery had been a struggle since she had nearly hacked her lungs out. So there was no way she would have the strength to talk to Gabriel, let alone craft lies.

They understood why Lila would think it was Marinette since the blunette had been abnormally negative, but they also believed in her innocence. They all knew there was a culprit though.

Alya now had multiple mysteries to solve. Lila apparently hadn't known just how sick Marinette was, and that she was dealing with the death of another friend. Lila immediately apologized for jumping to conclusions after she was returned from...wherever she went. Tikki had said it was an issue with her brother, who had visited last night, so Alya told everybody it was an Akuma.

Mylene frowned, looking over their files, trying to figure out what had broken Adrien so drastically, because it would likely tie directly to Lila's restraining order.

Nobody knew about Nino's newfound alliance with Gabriel, but Alya had been told they were holding a truce after having saved Adrien's life.

Just the thought made her shudder. Adrien had almost died right in front of them. They were all horribly guilty about what happened. But they hadn't known Broken Heart syndrome was a real thing, so they hadn't expected it.

"Do you think he might still be having a bad reaction to those brownies Lila made?" Rose asked, "We all had a small one, but Adrien had five, and he was flipping out."

"Doubtful." Max said, turning to Markov, "Those were four months ago, and Adrien only started acting weird a month and a half ago. According to doctors, Broken Heart syndrome comes from a severe loss, either the ending of a relationship or the death of a loved one. Overall, a loss is the key."

"Loss?" Alya paled, "Oh no. We were so busy trying to find a girl when it was loss all along. _ Marinette _!" She sprinted to the bakery, to make sure her best friend was alive. Marinette hadn't wanted visitors, preferring to be alone just in case she was contagious, but Alya didn't care.

She was terrified; fearing, she would see her best friend dead on the floor. Maybe she was irrational, but nobody had seen Adrien have a heart attack except for Marinette. Add on that she was grieving for someone, and that could be enough to...

"Marinette, girl!" She banged on the trapdoor, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah..." Alya almost wept in relief and came up, happy to see Marinette was just using a breathing treatment and took a pill.

"Max just revealed to us that BHS comes from loss more often than not. I know you wanted to be left alone, but I needed to make sure you weren't dying up here." Marinette smiled, and that was good to see,

"I'm okay, Alya. Other than my lungs hating me, but I learned the friend I thought died actually survived. Once I'm better, I plan to visit him." She got up, stumbling a bit, "My fever broke after an ice bath last night. I'm just hoping it stays like that." Alya sighed in relief, hugging her,

"I'm glad. Oh, and did you here Gabriel has a new ward? Cole. He and Nino already seem to be hitting it off. They just left during lunch to go check on Adrien. But apparently Adrien had a sudden recovery, and he scored higher on the coma test. The doctors say he might wake up in a couple days." She watched Marinette's face light up at the knowledge Adrien would most likely pull through. The entire class had rejoiced, but Marinette especially.

Marinette then looked at her phone, "Nino sent me a text saying the class was mad at me. Why?"

"Oh, Lila accused you of lying and getting Gabriel to file a restraining order so Lila can't go near Adrien. We're all mad somebody would do that, but you have a clear alibi, and you would never do that to somebody." She gestured to the breathing treatment in the corner, "Just focus on getting better, girl."

"Thanks for visiting and believing in me, Alya." Marinette chirped, coughing, "It means a lot."

Alya nodded, "Of course, Marinette. And you should wear your hair down more often, it's cute." Marinette blushed, and Alya left. Tikki emerged,

"Alya, I think Ladybug has been on leave long enough, maybe give the earrings back to Marinette so she can deliver them?" Alya nodded, putting the earrings away, going back up the stairs,

"Tell Ladybug I say thank you." She said, and Marinette hugged her best friend.

"I will." 

...

Marinette watched as Alya left, relieved to have Tikki back. She was feeling much better now that she knew Chat was alive. There was still guilt for not being able to stop this in the first place, but at least she had the chance to make it right.

Tikki emerged from the earrings, and she asked, "Why didn't you tell me Chat was alive?" 

"I didn't know. It's not like I've seen Chat Noir." She replied, "And if I did know, it would endanger his secret identity." 

"I don't care about secret identities." Marinette replied, "I have decided to reveal myself to Chat since it will make helping him easier." Tikki's eyes widened,

"Marinette, no! You must conceal who you are!" 

"That started this whole mess! It prevented him from talking to me in the first place, and maybe he wouldn't have...he wouldn't be in the hospital now if I had just told him who I am. Once I'm not coughing as much anymore, I'm going to go find him. Hopefully, Adrien will be awake too." She heard Tikki going on and on about how secret identities are crucial, but Marinette was having none of it.

"End of discussion." She said simply, and Tikki was no longer able to try stopping her. It was an abuse of power, she knew, but she had made her decision, "Sorry, Tikki. But my mind is made up. I trust him with my life, and Fu was right about a lack of trust between us but was wrong about who was the one not giving trust." 

Tikki just sighed.

OoOoO

Plagg yawned from where he and Nino were eating lunch by Adrien's bedside. It was getting tiring to hold his human form. He had figured out he could hold it for six hours before needing to take a small break. Nighttime would be when he let himself vanish and reappear in the morning.

Adrien was visibly doing better than he had yesterday, which was a good sign. Plagg could sense that Adrien could hear them now, and was actually fighting to wake up. The tube down his throat was now an oxygen mask, and he wasn't hooked up to as many machines now that he could breathe on his own and his heart could beat independent of machinery.

"Are you okay?" Nino asked, seeing Plagg was visibly tired.

"Yeah. Just need to vanish for a few minutes." He grabbed some cheese and blinked out of existence. He was still there, but he was invisible and intangible, like a ghost.

Nino smiled a little, watching Adrien. He'd put his headphones on Adrien so he could listen to music, and he swore he saw his friend's finger twitch. Might just be a reflex, but it was still a sign he was getting better.

"When you wake up, Adrien," Nino said softly, "Things are going to be different. The school is going to go back to the way it was before Lila came, and your Dad is gonna see the error of his neglectful ways, and you're never going to lose Plagg again. And therapy, that's gonna happen too, so you can start getting past Aspik."

Nathalie came in unexpectedly, "It's time to head back to school." She looked around, "Where's Cole?"

"Bathroom," Nino said with ease, and Plagg scrambled into the bathroom and reappeared, flushing the toilet to sell the story, turning on the sink, and then coming out.

"I'm right here!" He said. Nathalie smiled a little,

"Good. Oh, and Mr. Agreste wanted me to tell you that you have a photoshoot after school today."

"Fine." He moaned, "I better get some cheese for my efforts." He looked to where he swore he felt Adrien giggling. And if he could hear them, Adrien probably saw the idea of Plagg standing still for a photoshoot hilarious. He let himself smile, even if the feeling was just his imagination, "It's a good thing I care about you, Adrien." He and Nino then left for school.

Once they got out of the car, Nino looked to Plagg,

"Remember, no matter how insufferable Lila gets, no more banishing her to the void." 

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Plagg looked to his backpack and ate a piece of cheese, making sure to also slip on the second pair of gloves, "Anyone else I should worry about setting off my powers?"

"Before Lila came, I would say no. But the majority of the class believes her lies, and they get pretty ridiculous at times. Alya accepts most of it but does believe in Marinette's innocence. And I really appreciate being given some space to cope with Adrien and help him. I love her, but I have a life too and a friend in need."

"Understandable." He looked at his schedule, "So we have Ms... how do you pronounce that?"

"Ms. Mendeleiev? Oh...she might get on your nerves too. Just remember I can and will use the laser pointer if you banish someone to the void."

"At least Tikki can reverse it."

"About that," Nino crossed his arms, "Ladybug and Chat Noir are supposed to be equals. Why is Ladybug so much stronger, and Tikki seems stronger than you?"

"It's because she has more control over her powers than I do, having created the universe and all. But she wasn't a fan of letting me practice my destruction since she loved everything she created. She did let me use my destruction when mankind became too evil, so we had to wipe out humanity, which is the tale of Noah's ark."

"Oh, damn. But what about Ladybug and Chat Noir? You have tons more powers than the transformation does."

"Part of an issue with my Miraculous. Using all of my powers inflicts the curse of bad luck upon the wielder during civilian form, so I never told Adrien about it. With Tikki's wielders, they get the gift of good luck while using all the powers. If used selfishly, that good luck becomes temporary bad luck, but still. Hopefully, when Fu fixes my Miraculous, that won't be an issue, so Adrien can be more equal. Besides, Tikki can only fix my messes when I'm bound to the ring, or banished someone to the void. If I used cataclysm now, I could wipe out all of Paris, and she could do nothing."

"Ah. So it's to protect Adrien."

"Yes. I will admit I have had many abusive wielders, and I may have brought up the extra powers, so that bad luck got them killed."

"Well...way to handle your abuser?"

"Yup!" Nino sighed,

"Just remember that murder is frowned upon in society now. When we deal with Lila, it needs to be calm and civilized." 

"Like how Marinette personally knows Jagged Stone and Lila has spun multiple tales about the rock star?"

"Like that—wait, how did I not think about that before?" Plagg shrugged as they walked into class.

"Go sit with your girlfriend," Plagg said, "She's probably been lonely since Marinette is gone, and she's the one assigned next to Alya."

"I will next period, but Ms. Mendeleiev hates when we switch seats. How about you do it? Get to know more people. You'd like Alya."

So Plagg did, sitting next to Alya, "Hey. I noticed you've been sitting alone."

"Yeah. My BFF, Marinette, has been out sick. After what happened and how she felt when we changed the seating chart without her, I haven't let anyone sit there, just to prove I wouldn't throw her in the back again."

"Ah. Do you mind if I sit here today? There are no extra seats right now."

"No problem, but just for today. Marinette might be coming back today or tomorrow."

"That's good." He looked at her phone, "So you run the LadyBlog?" Alya nodded, brightening,

"You've heard about it? I thought you were from Tibet."

"I am. But I've been online friends with Adrien for a while, and the blog is his guilty pleasure." Adrien never revealed that to people, but Plagg saw this as a chance for his classmates to see the real Adrien Agreste, and the model shouldn't be afraid of being judged.

"No way!" Alya looked ready to squeal, but then wrote something in her journal, "Good to know..."

"What's that for?"

"The rest of the class and I have decided to figure out what broke Adrien's heart. Max said it was a loss or a breakup, so we are trying to see all of Adrien's relationships to see who he could have recently lost. Nathanael and Marc are investigating the possibility of a fallout with Kagami. Most of us are looking more into the case of Mrs. Agreste, such as how Chloe mentioned she had been ill. Chloe is looking into the akumas around the time Adrien started getting depressed, and maybe one of them made him snap."

Plagg had to admit all of those things were scary close to what had actually happened. Alya was actually a good detective.

"Well, Adrien did say when we were talking that it was partially all three of those things, but he didn't say the name of who he was falling out with." The more people realized the truth, the more they could help Adrien.

Alya brightened, "Wow. You know a lot. It's a good thing you came when you did." 

"I'll only be staying for three months until I turn eighteen. But I'll do what I can in that time. It helps I'm gonna be staying with Adrien."

"Hey..." Plagg turned when he saw Lila, "Could you talk to Mr. Agreste about that restraining order? Put in a good word for me?"

Plagg had to shove his hands under the table as he felt his gloves melt away. He felt himself break into a cold sweat as he battled against his own instincts to not kill her on the spot.

He got up and took a couple steps towards the door, thankful his gloves had been black so nobody at a glance would see it was his skin that was surrounded by destructive power.

"Cole?" Lila asked, and that sweetness in her tone made his blood boil, and he felt his power trying to travel through the rest of his body too.

"S-Stay away from me." He got out, feeling the ground under him start to crack.

_ Tikki, where are you? _ Plagg called down their bond. Nino then activated the laser pointer, and that calmed his down enough that he followed the red dot to his seat.

Ms. Mendeleiev came in, "Okay class, no talking, get to work. Cole, you work with Alya and Nino this period for the group project."

"Yes, ma'am."

Plagg sighed in relief, glad he hadn't just banished somebody to the void or god forbid activate cataclysm.

But he had forgotten one little detail about being human.

...

Gabriel had been sitting in front of Emilie's resting place, telling her about how Adrien was finally recovering, when he felt an intense spike of fear and anger from his Miraculous. 

"Huh?" From what he could tell, it was someone who was pissed at Lila Rossi and was afraid of losing his temper and hurting people.

Girl grieving over her friend who commit suicide? A line he would not cross. 

A boy who was angry at Lila and knew he had a dangerous temper? Golden opportunity if he ever saw one. 

It would be nice, Gabriel supposed, to get Emilie back before Adrien woke up. That would give him time to explain everything, and then everything would be okay again. Emilie just understood their son better, could speak his language. If anybody could figure out what exactly had happened to break Adrien's heart, it would be her.

He pouted a bit when that emotion faded because the Akuma that came from it could have been great. Chat Blanc....that would be interesting. Was he feeling the emotion of Chat Noir's civilian form?

Didn't matter now, did it? The emotion was gone. It was bound to show up, but probably not for a while.

He brightened as the emotion returned, more of an annoyance this time, but still enough.

He transformed and grabbed a butterfly from the bush, sending it out. 

...

Plagg was extremely annoyed when Lila started telling another tale about her adventures, this time saying she had learned military tactics from an Italian war hero. He did his best to ignore her, but he may need to have a...strongly worded exchange...with her.

_ Calm down, Plagg. _ He told himself, also stressing since he had no idea what the assignment questions in front of him were. Regardless of what Adrien said about the school, it was hard, and paying attention was even harder.

He froze when he heard Rose scream, and Plagg whirled around to see and Akuma flying at him. Oh right, he'd forgotten humans got akumatized. 

He ran out of the room, the Akuma following, and plowed into the locker room. Now sure he was alone, he grabbed the Akuma, activated cataclysm to destroy it. It turned to dust, and that was the end of that, crisis averted.

"Did you just destroy an Akuma?" Crap.

He turned and saw Lila standing there. His anger spiked, and he consciously held his hands behind his back to conceal them.

"No." Lila chuckled darkly,

"You aren't as dumb as the others, I can tell you don't like me. And what would the world think if Chat Noir turned out to be a high school boy with superpowers even out of costume." Plagg pondered this. So she thought he was Chat Noir. Well, she wasn't too far off, so he decided to play along. 

"Alright, you got me. What do you want?" 

"Power, fame, fortune..." she counted on her fingers, "I guess you are the one to blame for the restraining order."

"Actually, you are. With those drugged brownies. So tell me why you did that." Lila put her hands on her hips, clearing not going to say anything, so Plagg showed her his blackened hands and backed her against the wall. She clearly knew the tides had turned now, and Plagg shifted into Chat Noir, only white, just in case somebody walked in. 

"Fine! Fine!" Lila gasped as one of the death-laced hands came dangerously close to her face, "It was to pin Marinette! One brownie was fine, multiple led to being high. It was meant to put me in Gabriel's good graces by saving him from Marinette, and getting _ her _ arrested! Clearly too risky to try anything, but I wanted to do a photoshoot with Adrien to gain fame!" Plagg softened, but only a little,

"You weren't planning on taking advantage of him?"

"NO! Too risky." He could sense she was telling the truth, but he still wanted to kill her. Maybe banishing her back to the void wouldn't hurt...no. No. He had told Nino he wouldn't do that. 

But he wanted to...

_ Nope. Don't do it, Plagg, don't you dare. Remember, human mentality. _

_ She hurt Adrien, even if she wasn't going to try anything, it's still unforgivable. She must pay! _

_ She's human, and you could quickly destroy her. Then your cover is blown. And how would Adrien feel if you killed someone in his name? _

That thought calmed him, knowing Adrien would just feel that as a weight on his conscience forever. He whirled around as a second Akuma went for him, and he calmed himself enough that he could safely grab Lila's wrist,

"Tell nobody about this." He shifted back into his Cole persona, "Or you will regret it. I don't expose you, and you don't expose me. Deal?" This meant absolutely nothing since Nino could easily do the busting. Or Marinette. He was pleasantly surprised to see Lila cower in fear, and he realized he hadn't shifted his eyes back.

"Deal."

"Good. Now go tell the class that I fought off the Akuma and am feeling unwell. I'll be in here." She ran off quickly, and he didn't even care at that moment if she did expose him. He was so tired from all the shifting he had just done. 

His back pressed against the wall, he slid down it, and quickly lost his form and passed out.

...

Tikki had been sitting quietly as Marinette took a nap, contemplating.

What Plagg had done was dangerous. Very dangerous. She admitted it was a little bit her fault about how little control he had. When she had described it to Marinette, she had described it as Celestia and Luna from that_ My Little Pony_ show, with light overpowering darkness, and it coming back to bite her. Only Plagg hadn't lost his mind...yet.

Maybe she had been selfish to never let Plagg learn how to master his powers. But she had enjoyed being able to overpower him, keep him out of trouble. But she was never mad when he accidentally wiped out a civilization because it was always an accident, and she knew it was the byproduct of her own mistakes. For the dinosaurs, she just returned the earth to normal and created a new species, and they never spoke of it again.

It was unfair how much more attention and praise she got. How she always got the excellent wielders, and Plagg was starved an abused. Sometimes his wielder blindly followed their Ladybug and died for their partner, and simply forgot about Plagg being a creature in need to sustenance too. Other times he downright got a terrorist.

She sighed. Because of Plagg's tendency to get crappy wielders, she had always been hellbent on identities being hidden. She understood Plagg was bitter about it, and how a reveal could have saved him many of those times. She remembered that he had_ fought _Fu when they learned they were going back on the field, and it was only hearing that Nooroo was being abused that got him to agree. 

But Adrien was different. He had always been different. Tikki was actually shocked Fu picked him since she had seen how Fu treated the boy. Sure, he had never planned to have either know him, but once one knows, it's only fair for both to know. This made Plagg also feel left out since he was never in the loop.

Was it too late to teach him? She'd never thought in a million years that he would go so far as to destroy his own ring but realized he had probably snapped. Adrien nearly dying had been the final straw for him, which was usually far from her playful and somewhat lazy twin who liked to joke with her.

She jolted when she felt him crying down the bond, exhausted and in pain. _ Oh no... _

Knowing Marinette would be okay for a little bit, she flew to her brother. She knew the rest of the world couldn't see him, but she saw him reverted to his cat form curled into a ball, clearly exhausted and passed out.

"Plagg!" She picked him up off the floor and placed him in a locker belonging to his human persona. She shook him, "Wake up!" He wasn't in danger of dying or anything, but that didn't mean it was healthy to push himself this far.

When he didn't wake up, she dug into his discarded backpack and pulled out some cheese, hoping the smell could wake him up. She wanted him to rest but also wanted to make sure he was even able to wake up. A kwami's body could go into complete shutdown when drained too much, and this led to a damaged Miraculous or even the wielder paying the price instead. If he had reached that point, he would wake up only when recharged, which could take weeks and endanger his identity, which was actually dangerous to reveal. Another thing she stupidly hadn't taught Plagg to do: safely hold a physical form for long periods.

She waved the cheese in his face, trying to rouse him, "Come on, Plagg. Not now, _please_, not now."

She almost laughed and sobbed at the same time when he finally woke up, blinking a few times, and sitting up.

"Tikki? What happened?" She smiled at him,

"You pushed yourself too far and almost went into shutdown. I lent you a little energy, so you can shift back, but you need to rest for the rest of the day. Stay in your Cole form, no shifting otherwise. And rest whenever you're alone."

"Nino and Lila know my secret. Well...Lila thinks I'm Chat Noir, and I may have lost my temper and almost gotten akumatized." Tikki wanted to be mad, but she detested Lila too and knew that if Marinette were the one in a coma from a broken heart, she would be _ anything _ but kind to the lying girl. And at least Nino could be trusted, and Lila didn't know the full story.

"Did you make sure to blackmail her into keeping your secret?"

"Naturally." Tikki sighed in relief,

"As much as I hate her, the other choice would be to...handle her." Plagg's eyes widened,

"Woah! Didn't think you'd go there!" She chuckled,

"Well, don't you remember what happened last time a civilization learned of your identity when you tried to blend in and had had too much cheese? Atlantis sank!" Plagg winced at that since the people trying to experiment on his powers made him lose his temper and sink the whole place. That had been the final straw before the Miraculouses were made, to limit his destruction even more.

"I know." He sighed, "I'm starting to think this isn't a good idea, sugarcube. Without a Miraculous, I'm a loose cannon and could get akumatized. I can't even hold my form for longer than a couple hours."

Tikki sighed, "I can help you with that, but it will still be difficult. But I'll support you in your quest of self-discovery." Plagg smiled, leaning on her a little,

"Maybe this whole thing will get us closer as twins and not just yin and yang. I know you don't want me to be your equal since that means you can't fix my messes."

"Plagg, I should have taught you to control this, or at least let you teach yourself. I'm not as powerful now, so it will be difficult to do. But you're not alone in this. You're possibly just as broken-hearted as Adrien is, but you've just had longer to cope."

"Kindred-spirits, what can I say?" Tikki kissed his forehead,

"Are you recovered enough that you can shift back? People are going to start missing you."

"I know. I think I'm okay. No promises I won't need to be carried though." He smiled, "Thanks for coming, sis. I don't think anybody would have found me since Fu wants nothing to do with me right now." Tikki groaned,

"Coward. I'll talk to him. It's dumb for the guardian to abandon an unleashed kwami, you especially." She left, "I'll check on you again tonight, and I expect to find you resting." Then she was gone, leaving Plagg alone.

Leaving the locker, Plagg looked around, thankful to only then hear the bell ring saying it was the end of the school day. 

He shifted back into Cole and immediately fell onto his hands and knees, before curling in a ball on the ground. 

_ Too much....too much energy needed to shift fully...pushing myself too much...Tikki...help...I was wrong... _

He dully heard someone open the door, and at least three people screamed to see him on the floor. His vision was blurred, trying to keep his form together, and he saw maybe Ivan pick him up, and Sabrina was shaking him, 

"Cole?!" It sounded as though he was underwater, "Call the hospital!"

"No..." he managed to get out, barely a whisper, "I'm just tired...just tired...just..."

He knew no more.

OoOoO

Gabriel had been in the middle of wondering how in the name of reality someone had managed to make him lose connection with not one but two akumas when the phone rang. It was the hospital, saying his nephew had just been checked in after he fainted at school and had started seizing.

Even though he had no relationship with his nephew, he still rushed to the hospital. He had had enough of losing family, first his wife then his son, and there was no way he would lose his nephew too. Maybe it was the need for something to hold on to with Adrien's fate undecided.

When he got there, he saw Adrien's classmates in various stages of panic. A girl he identified as Mylene, Horrificator, was crying on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"A-Are we cursed?" She asked through tears, "First Adrien, then Marinette and now, Cole!" There were others shedding tears, Lila thankfully wasn't there, and he saw Nino pacing.

"What happened?" He asked, "I just got a call that my ward collapsed." Nino nodded,

"Yeah. He almost got akumatized and ran out of the classroom to avoid the Akuma. Lila went to check on him, saying he was in a mood and didn't want anyone near him just in case, and he had gotten the Akuma with a flamethrower. But after the day ended, we went to get our stuff and saw him curled up on the ground, trying to say he was just tired, before passing out. He started seizing, among other things, and then the paramedics arrived."

A doctor came out, and Gabriel recognized him as Dr. Chan, the one who did Cole's DNA test. How had he gotten here so fast?

"Mr. Agreste, you can come back." Gabriel went back, and the doctor started talking, "You can calm down, he's alive. Asleep, but stable."

"What happened? How did you get here?"

"I was actually here with Cole since his mother was no longer around, to make sure he got settled in and to answer your inevitable questions. When I heard he collapsed, I rushed over. I take it he didn't tell you about his condition."

"What condition?"

"He has chronic fatigue syndrome. It's a complicated disorder characterized by extreme fatigue that can't be explained by any underlying medical condition. The fatigue may worsen with physical or mental activity but doesn't improve with rest. He likely pushed himself too far today, and his body couldn't take it anymore."

Now, he didn't feel guilty, since Cole didn't tell him about that little detail, but did feel bad for the kid. And what had his mother gone through, as a single parent raising a naturally weakened child? If it had been Adrien with that condition, he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it, knowing even the smallest thing could exhaust him.

"Can I see him?"

"Yes. I hope you don't mind that I put Cole on the couch in the same room as Adrien, for simplicity's sake. He should be up within the hour."

"Thank you." When they got there, Gabriel smiled to see Adrien looking even better than he had a couple hours ago. And Cole was already awake, looking drained, but not like he was about to pass out at any second, "You gave your classmates quite the scare, Cole." Cole winced,

"Sorry. I was hoping I could get by without..."

"I don't want excuses. As my ward, you aren't dying on my watch."

"I'm not dying, just really tired." Dr. Chan looked to Gabriel,

"He didn't need to be thoroughly checked in once I explained his condition and that he just needed rest and this was normal. You can take him back to the mansion now." 

"Thank you, doctor." The doctor left, and Gabriel looked to Cole, "Can you walk?" Cole nodded, getting up, stumbling a little. But they managed to get to the car, and Cole had fallen back asleep on Gabriel's shoulder. 

He had to carry his nephew to the guest room and tucked him in. Bowing his head.

_ Emilie smiled at him, "I'm fine, Gabriel," she assured him, "I'm not dying, just a little tired." _

Those were her last words to him. He's found her collapsed in the observatory, and nothing would wake her. Her behavior, while under the effects of the damaged Miraculous, was identical to Cole's, even the symptoms were similar. So he wasn't seeing his nephew sleeping on the bed, he was seeing his wife.

He then noticed a pendant around Cole's neck that hadn't been there before. He saw Nooroo staring at the boy in both parts fear and wonder, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, master. He just reminds me of someone."

"Me too, Nooroo. Me too." He turned to Nathalie, "Make sure he stays on bed rest until he doesn't look ready to collapse."

"Of course, Gabriel." She said with a shy smile. He nodded and went back to work, since time didn't freeze during these tragedies, no matter how much he wished it would. He did need to actually do his job from time to time. He was glad most of his business partners were extra forgiving, especially with Adrien's condition added on to the trauma of losing Emilie.

Though he supposed, his designer side told him his melancholy might create something amazing, but the human side just wanted all this pain and suffering to be over. He just wanted his family safe and sound with no curses or heart attacks, was that too much to ask?!

He got out his sketchbook, sitting down beside Emilie's coffin, trying to imagine something new for the next line. He absently found himself flashing back to those good times, and just made himself more miserable. It was a good thing he was Hawk Moth. Otherwise, he could be prime Akuma material right now.

Maybe it was his fault Cole collapsed. The Akuma had likely been the final straw. He had been working to be more careful on who he was akumatizing and their motivations, so he would have to add Cole to the list of "do not akumatize, no matter how tempting."

He looked up at Emilie, "I'm lost without you, Emilie. So much has changed. Apparently, we have a nephew. Seems like a good kid, a lot like you. I'm going to fix this mess, my love, then our family will be complete again." He turned to Nooroo, "Am I cursed? The longer I use the Miraculous wrongfully, my family suffers because of it?"

"No, Master." Nooroo admitted, "Only Plagg's bad luck curse that comes with using all of his powers would spark something like that. You're just unlucky. But...forgive me saying...maybe your neglect of Adrien played a part in his broken heart. Maybe...if you move on, and help him move on, things can get better. But it will take time, especially with how Adrien has been feeling." Gabriel sighed,

"I know." He then froze when his phone rang and picked it up. 

It was the hospital.

"Hello? Gabriel Agreste speaking." He tried to keep his tone calm, hiding the terror.

_ "It's Dr. Manani. It's about Adrien." _

"Yes? What is it?" Gabriel asked frantically, "Please don't tell me he took a turn for the worst!"

_ "Quite the opposite, actually. He just woke up." _


	5. Chapter 5

Gabriel had never run so fast in his life. In his mind, running was reversed for when one is late, or when something horrid is chasing you. In this case, it was his son coming out of a two-week coma that had him racing to the car, not waiting for anybody, and probably breaking the speed limit.

When he finally got to Adrien's hospital room, he saw Adrien resting against a stack of pillows to keep him upright, his eyes open. But he didn't seem all there.

Regardless, he kissed his son's forehead, weeping, overjoyed that something good had finally happened. He paused when Adrien didn't respond at all. He just stared blankly, as though he didn't register who was in front of him.

"Adrien...can you hear me?"

One blink.

"Can you talk?"

Two blinks. 

"He's just woken, Mr. Agreste." Dr. Malani said, coming in, "It's not like the movies, where the victim is fine upon waking up. It will be a gradual recovery. He'll probably fall back asleep in a few minutes, and slowly as days go by remaining aware for longer periods. His vocal cords are a little weak from lack of use and having had a tube shoved down his throat, but he should start speaking in a couple days. He currently communicates through blinking to answer yes and no questions, one for yes and two for no."

"Thank you." Gabriel sighed as Adrien fell back asleep. So he didn't get any time to talk to his son. He knew it wasn't smart to immediately ask what had crushed his spirit, but he would have liked to remind Adrien that everybody was afraid for him. But at least there was a visible difference between coma and asleep. 

He stroked Adrien's cheek, "Just keep fighting, son, you're getting there." 

He stayed with Adrien all that night.

OoOoO

Within a day of her fever breaking, Marinette was back at school, with plans to find Chat once the school day was over. She still had a lingering cough but had gotten it confirmed that she was no longer contagious.

"Hey, guys!" She chirped as she walked into her classroom. She did not expect Chloe to hug her in joy,

"Adrien woke up last night!" She squealed, "Doctors said he's not up for lots of company yet, but he's getting there!" Lila approached Marinette, 

"I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. I would have brought you some of my world-famous soup if I'd known before about just how ill you were." Marinette did her best not to let her hatred show, smiling as she pictured both Adrien and Chat Noir, smiling again. They both would smile again, and she would make sure of it, even if it were the last thing she ever did.

Then her mind turned to the news Adrien had woken up. That was great! He was getting better, finally. 

Sitting down, she let herself drift into her fantasies, trying to see how her inevitable conversations with Adrien and Chat would go. What do you say to someone you let slip away and did nothing?

She was brought from her thoughts when the door opened, and an unfamiliar boy came in. His features were similar to that of Adrien, except his skin was a few shades darker, and he had untidy jet-black hair. However, his startlingly green eyes were identical to Adrien. He was thin, possibly more so than Adrien, but he still had an aura to him that said looks were deceiving. 

His attire was clearly of Agreste brand since he was wearing a white long sleeve shirt with a black butterfly in a circle in the center; olive-green jeans with a black belt connected to a silver buckle; and his shoes were olive-green sneakers. He was also wearing simple black gloves for some reason. Germaphobe, maybe?

To Marinette's surprise, Lila seemed terrified of the new boy for a second, and everybody else was shocked.

"Cole!" Everyone said both parts worried and surprised.

Alya turned to Marinette, "Cole arrived yesterday, and fainted and had a seizure. He also managed to take down an Akuma going after him."

Cole waved a little bit, "Hey, guys." Kim got out of his seat,

"Cole, shouldn't you be resting. You were really tripping out yesterday." Max pulled out a calculator,

"There is a 97.32% chance you're suffering from the Akuma still." Marinette turned to Cole, who had a blank and sleepy expression, not unkind, but also not outgoing. 

"Cursed? It's just a medical condition." He said simply, sitting in the back and fiddling with a pendant of some sort. Marinette noticed from that angle, his cheekbones were slightly sunken. He just got out a notebook and started writing, even though the lesson hadn't started yet.

"Yeah," Alix crossed her arms, "Then explain the glowing, you blinking out of existence a couple times, and your eyes becoming all weird. You did that while seizing, then you just fell slack." Cole looked up, his face unreadable. Judging by the conversation, he was probably annoyed or bored. 

"I don't remember that, so I can't comment." He said simply, "I'm just tired, always am. Maybe that second Akuma didn't go down without a fight, but I'm fine now. So can you all just drop it?"

Marinette looked to Alya, "A second Akuma went after him?"

"Yeah. According to Lila, she saw him take out the first one with a flamethrower, and as she was leaving saw a second one going for him."

Now, this immediately sent up red flags. Lila was lying, clearly, but she knew something, and Cole was much more than he seemed.

"Anything else you know?"

"He's Gabriel's new ward, from Tibet. Why? No idea, but he only arrived yesterday. Last night, Adrien woke up. Little suspicious, don't you think?"

Yes, that was odd. But if Marinette got Alya involved, it could endanger Cole and whatever secret he had. If he was from Tibet, could he be a Miraculous hero? Because Fu didn't tell her much, except the temple had been destroyed. She knew from Gabriel having a book on the Miraculous, given to him by his wife, that the Agreste family had ties in Tibet. Maybe that was it, he was just a friend from Tibet. But she knew there was something more to him.

She also noticed Nino was sitting next to Cole, uncharacteristically stressed out. Adrien's condition must be getting to him, and he finally let it out not that they knew their friend would pull through.

When class was over, she approached Cole and noticed him looking at his gloved hands, smiling to himself. 

"Hey, Cole. I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Marinette, the class representative." Cole turned to her, smiling fondly,

"I'm glad you're feeling better." He looked towards her bag where Tikki was hiding, almost like he could see directly through it, "Lovely bag. Did you make it?" She nodded,

"Yes..." she looked him over again. There was something about him, so familiar. She remembered Plagg had mentioned freeing himself, and this boy did look kind of like what she had imagined the cat kwami would look like as a human. But that theory had multiple holes, such as why did he share features with Adrien, and why would a supposedly lazy kwami willingly go to school?

To her knowledge, Chat Noir was still in the hospital, but Plagg being here would also mean that if he was trying to stay close to his former wielder, and that said her partner was a student here. She knew the transformation did not alter his blonde hair and green eyes since she'd seen him as Mister Bug; but the only blonde, green-eyed boy here was Adrien. And while that would mean there was no suicide attempt, it would mean she assisted more than she'd thought in his literal heartbreak. Though the idea of Adrien being Chat wasn't unpleasant to think about, having worked alongside him for so long.

Cole stared at her, "Are you okay?" She shook herself,

"Oh. Sorry. Have we met before?" She noticed little change in his eyes,

"Maybe in passing. But I would remember a face like yours." He smiled a little, "Well, it was nice to meet you. We should head to our next class."

So they did, and Marinette continued to try pinpointing how Cole was familiar. 

And by the end of the day, she couldn't shake the theory he was Plagg.

She went with him and Nino to the hospital, since she was looking for Chat Noir. When the receptionist asked, she said she was visiting Adrien. But she knew Gabriel hadn't permitted her to visit, so she went in another direction. 

In her hand was a file she had gotten from Max, of all the teen boys checked into the hospital in the last three weeks. He considered it his apology for doubting her innocence for even a second, so now she had four potential suspects for Chat Noir. It didn't miss her notice that she kept gravitating towards thinking it was Adrien, but then assuming that was her crush talking. 

She peaked into the room of her first potential partner and frowned when this one looked nothing like Chat. This happened with the other two as well. Looking in her file, there was one teen who had been checked out of the hospital recently: Cole Willis. She then realized Plagg never did say _ which _ hospital Chat Noir was at.

But somehow, she knew. Maybe it was the sixth sense, but she could tell Cole knew something. And by god, she was going to find out what he knew about her partner.

OoOoO

Plagg was surprised to see Gabriel in the hospital room with Adrien. He cursed a little under his breath because he wanted to sleep and fade.

The charm Master Fu had given him last night was designed to keep his form active even if he passed out, but it didn't help with the drain at all. 

Gabriel looked up at Nino and Plagg, "He's woken up a couple times, but only for a few minutes."

"Have you been here all night?" Plagg asked, and Gabriel shrugged,

"I might as well. I basically live here now. If I ever come back here again once Adrien is discharged, it will be too soon." Plagg chuckled. Maybe Adrien's father did have some redeeming qualities and wasn't just a neglectful prick. Adrien was right, his father actually was a human being with a heart! Though the fact this came as a shock said something. 

Nino sat down, staring at Adrien, giving his friend's hand a gentle squeeze. He likely felt the same way Plagg did—happy Adrien was awake, but afraid to see just how broken his friend was, and scared he was already too far-gone.

Plagg smiled, deciding to take a nap on the couch, "Wake me up when we need to leave or if Adrien wakes." Then he was asleep the second his head was resting on the couch.

...

Regardless of the calm facade he put up, Nino was not okay.

He had watched his best friend fade away, and nothing could stop it. Now he knew why, and what could he do? He vowed he would never tell the others, even as they went on a wild goose chase. They had good leads, but he knew the answer and wanted to scream it at them, but knew he couldn't.

The guilt also ate him alive. He had considered himself a good friend, but he had not only not realized Adrien was Chat Noir until it was too late, but he also didn't realize Adrien was in love! He understood why Adrien wouldn't have told him since most would laugh off a crush on Ladybug as a celebrity crush. He remembered Simon Says, he had seen a bit of chemistry there but had thought he imagined things.

He'd thought he known Adrien enough that he would guess these things.

_ "Are you okay? You can't lie to me, Adrien. I know you too well." _

Oh, how wrong he was. He also hadn't seen how Alya was Rena Rouge until it was literally dangling in front of his face. Was he just blind? What else had he missed? If Plagg hadn't told him exactly who and what he was, would he have guessed it? Probably not.

He wanted to be a better friend to Adrien, truly know him. He had seen past the model mask for a long time, but he hadn't known there was another mask. It was almost as though Adrien Agreste had more masks on that his superhero counterpart.

He turned to look at Plagg, fast asleep on the couch, still looking slightly ill. He noticed Gabriel looking at him too, a distant expression on his face, as though trapped in a memory.

"Mr. Agreste?" Gabriel snapped out of it,

"I was just thinking."

"About?" There were actual tears in Gabriel's eyes, which was very unexpected, but an idea appeared in Nino's mind, "Is his condition like your wife's?" Gabriel said nothing, but the momentary dread in his eyes gave the DJ his answer, "Are you afraid there's more to what's going on what just chronic fatigue?"

"It won't. Nothing can compare to what happened to Emilie." He sighed, "If Cole is ill the way she was..." he trailed off.

"Do you know what happened to her? If you knew she was sick, then maybe she's..." he was about to suggest she was dead but decided not to just in case Adrien was able to hear them, "out looking for a cure."

"Perhaps. I sincerely hope that's the case because Emilie would never walk out on us. She loves Adrien more than anything else in the world." Nino knew Gabriel was saying this more to Adrien than anyone else, but he was still taking note.

"What were her symptoms? My mom's a doctor, so she might have an idea of potential treatments." Gabriel shook his head,

"We went to countless doctors, and the only thing they said was that she needed rest. The same thing Dr. Chan said about Cole. So maybe Cole's condition is hitting close to home." Nino decided to drop it before he crossed a line.

Gabriel's hand flew over his mouth, as though he just realized what he had been saying. Worry about 'Cole' added on to his own exhaustion, Nino supposed, had made him a little looser-lipped than usual.

"Mr. Agreste, you should get some sleep." He said quietly. Gabriel sent him a dirty look, as though saying he couldn't tell his elders what to do, but did close his eyes, resting his head in one hand.

Nathalie then started coughing, sitting down in a chair. She drank some tea, and Plagg was still asleep.

Nino bowed his head, knowing that handling this was going to be so much harder than he imagined. If he didn't have Plagg to confide in, he was pretty sure he would have cracked by now.

He chuckled humorlessly. Perhaps he had a better idea of how Adrien felt now.

OoOoO

Tikki waited until Marinette was asleep to fly to Master Fu. She doubted there would be another Akuma attack. Maybe Hawk Moth had decided to wait until Chat Noir was back since there was no point in attacking Paris if it couldn't achieve his goal. But he had tried to akumatize Plagg...maybe that emotion had been too good to resist, or perhaps the worse option that he could sense what Plagg really was.

It didn't take long to find Fu in a flat on the far edge of town, and she phased through the door. She debated trying to shift but opted against it.

He looked up from where he was working on fixing the ring, and Tikki realized that Plagg had _ really _ been mad when he went against his ring because it was so severely damaged that trying to wear it would make it crumble.

"Tikki, what are you doing here?" He asked, and Tikki sat down,

"Why did you tell Plagg you will have nothing to do with him?"

"Because his being near me would increase suspicion towards me being the guardian." Tikki narrowed her eyes,

"Do I need to remind you that you are not an official guardian? Maybe that's why you don't know just how little Plagg knows about his own powers. He was created within a nanosecond of me during the big bang, matter and anti-matter clashing until we came to be. I know how powerful he could be since I can sense his potential, but he doesn't. But I was selfish and never let him practice, and now he is in danger of shutdown because he doesn't know how to shift and remain like that. He said he pulled a Ponyo to even figure out how to shift in the first place."

"I gave him a pendant to help him maintain his form."

"But don't you understand that will only send him into shutdown faster! He doesn't need an easy solution, he needs the real one. Just like Adrien! Or have you forgotten what became of him?"

"Adrien is too emotionally vulnerable to be a proper Chat Noir." Master Fu said simply, "The only reason I would give him the ring back is since Marinette would never forgive me for driving him over the edge. And just the idea of what Plagg could do..."

"Oh come off it!" Tikki snapped, "Adrien is the best Chat Noir Plagg has had, he values Ladybug, and Marinette is no better than him when it comes to vulnerability, and that fact says a lot with all that the boy has on his plate. I don't know why you hate him, but I am worried about my brother and your foolish decisions being the final straw before he..." She bit back her words, not wanting to imagine her twin going into shutdown, which was the closest thing to death for a kwami.

"What am I supposed to do, Tikki?" Fu asked, "It is not I who prevented Plagg from learning. Until this moment, I didn't realize the imbalance was due to the kwamis, not the wielders."

"It is my fault for that, but what you need to do is help him. Make potions or something, to help grant him strength. I can lend him energy occasionally, but it won't be enough to keep him from harming himself by taking it too far. He needs _ help _, not someone who only pops in to prevent his identity from being revealed." She tossed him the grimoire she had taken from Marinette, "Get to work, because Marinette has enough on her plate to also deal with the ailment of someone she barely knows."

Fu clearly wanted to argue but knew that Tikki was not going to back down, and she was infinitely more powerful than him, even while bound to the earrings. He sighed,

"Fine. Get back to Marinette."

Tikki wanted to say so much more but knew more of this situation was her fault than she liked to admit, so she added on, "I added some magic to the ring, that way Plagg's wielders can safely use the full powers. No more inequality." 

Flying around, she found Plagg curled up by the electric fireplace in his room at the mansion. He had himself wrapped up in blankets, but still, he shivered.

"Plagg?" He looked up at her,

"Hey, sugarcube. I'm resting." Tikki sighed, removing the pendant from around his next, which made his magic instantly stop working so hard as he reverted to cat form and lost visibility.

"Plagg, you only wear this when you're not alone or with only trusted people. You need to save your energy."

"I know." Plagg was still next to the fire, shivering, "I started getting unbearably cold."

Tikki held him, "Plagg, that means you were getting close to a shutdown. Here," she held his flipper-paw-things that they had in their standard form, "the trick to remaining human for long periods is to not think about it. Just pretend you're still in your normal form. The less you actively think about it, the less it tires you, like with breathing: don't think about it, and it happens subconsciously. It will drain you, but less so. I know that's going to be harder for you since you need to continually think about you not using your powers. It will get easier with practice, though." She shared some energy with him since she could feel how drained he was. 

It had only been five days since he broke the ring, and he had come close to shutdown twice already. How would they get through three months? Being with Adrien would probably make it easier, but who knows when Adrien will be recovered enough to go home?

"Cole?" They heard Nathalie knock on the door, "Cole, I have tea." Plagg frantically shifted back, slipping on the pendant again, and Tikki hid as Nathalie came in. She saw Plagg smile gratefully, impressed with his acting like a polite teen,

"Thank you," her heart jolted in fear as he started coughing, meaning he hadn't recovered enough before shifting. She noticed Nathalie coughed moments after pouring the tea, so maybe they had caught a bug or something?

"Are you sick?" Plagg asked, looking at Nathalie, who shrugged,

"No, just tired. I guess you and I aren't that different. Mr. Agreste is probably gonna come down with something with how little he's slept in the last couple weeks." Without thinking, the two got close to the fire, wrapped in a blanket together, falling asleep together. 

Tikki sighed, knowing now Plagg would have to stay in his form, but at least he wouldn't be drained as fast while asleep. 

She heard the door open again and quickly flew back to Marinette.

...

Gabriel opened the door to Cole's room, to make sure the boy was resting and found him and Nathalie curled up next to the fire, with him shivering and her coughing. His blood ran cold at the sight, and he grabbed more blankets for them.

He'd prevented Nathalie from using the peacock unless they had an actual plan, but those were few and far in between, and especially not with Adrien hospitalized. But she still didn't recover. 

But Cole...he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but his symptoms were suspiciously similar to what happened to the wielder of the Peacock Miraculous. Maybe it really was chronic fatigue, and his paranoia was just doing the talking, but he wanted to be sure.

"Nooroo, are there more Miraculouses other than the ones here in Paris?" Nooroo nodded, then shook his head.

"No, they were all consumed and destroyed by the sentimonster that slaughtered everyone at the Guardian Temple, when Duusu and I were separated from the others. Why?"

"Is it possible Cole is or was a Miraculous wielder from there?" Nooroo shook his head,

"No. That's impossible. All the other Miraculouses were consumed by the monster, so there is no way he could have gotten one."

Gabriel sighed in relief, "So I'm just going mad."

"Not at all, master, other than the Hawk Moth thing. Your experiences with Emilie and now Nathalie are making you immediately fear he's suffering from a damaged Miraculous. You know I cannot lie to you, master." Gabriel nodded,

"Thanks, Nooroo." He looked to the painting of his wife that he had in his bedroom, "How am I going to be a better father to Adrien and find the time to save Emilie and do work. I can do two of those things, but three?"

"Well, you have enough money for both you and Adrien to live in wealth for the rest of your lives even without working a day. Perhaps you could retire, and be Hawk Moth while Adrien is at school or doing homework? I would suggest not being Hawk Moth, but know that's not going to happen."

He pondered this. It wasn't a half-bad idea. "That's not bad. But retiring would take a while, and I need someone to pass the company to. Though...there's no harm in some leave for my mental health. I haven't taken any official leave yet, and my business partners would understand me wanting to spend time with my child who just came out of a coma."

"Good plan. Adrien needs his father's love more than ever right now. Cole will be able to fill in the gap. But master...if he finds out you're Hawk Moth, you do understand that will destroy him, right?"

Gabriel was silent, because he knew that would happen, knew Adrien realizing it was inevitable, but he also didn't want to give up.

"Could the guardian heal her?" He asked his back pressed against the wall. He needed Emilie back, but he had now seen the dead look in Adrien's eyes, hating himself for having not seen it before. He refused to be the cause of that hollow expression.

"Maybe. I don't really know." Gabriel flopped onto the bed as though he was making an impression of Adrien—not that he knew that—and proceeded to mope and think. He'd already tried creating a healing Akuma to heal Emilie, and that did nothing other than getting his hopes up.

"Is it too much to hope he would join me?"

"Yes." 

Gabriel sighed.

...

Nooroo had a hard time believing what he had sensed. Plagg was here! He was right here in the mansion. 

Why was he here? Yes, he needed money to satisfy his cheese cravings, but he seemed like he was pushing himself and risking a shutdown. Why would he risk that?

There was only one answer: Adrien. 

Just the thought made Nooroo shudder. Father and son have been battling for years...the knowledge would crush them both.

So Nooroo would do what he could to get Gabriel to prioritize Adrien over Emilie, even if it would take a ton of time since only recently had the designer started listening to him. Though it did help that Gabriel seemed to care enough about 'Cole' to not wish any harm for him.

He watched Gabriel contemplate what to do for a bit, and Nooroo wished he could go see Plagg, make sure he was okay. But he couldn't leave within a few feet of Gabriel.

Until his master came to his senses, Nooroo vowed he would omit like mo tomorrow to conceal his older brother's identity.

But for now, he just went to sleep, since that was all he could really do.


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay..." Kagami sat down with the rest of Adrien's class, having officially joined the search for the reason for their friend's broken heart. "What I can tell you is that Adrien and I are not romantically involved, nor has there been a falling out. He just started acting differently right after Desperada. Adrien came back after the villain so we could sneak to fencing practice before anyone could notice, and he looked changed, almost older. He then started crying his eyes out, saying he was unworthy of 'her' love. I knew he was in love with someone, but he always played the pronoun game when discussing her. It was just a downward spiral from there, until a couple days before his collapse." she sucked in a breath, trying to stop herself from crying, "He asked if anybody would miss him...if he were to disappear like his mom."

They all sat in stunned and horrified silence, knowing precisely what Adrien had been asking. Tears fell down their faces as they guiltily wondered how they had missed such a massive detail of him debating that stuff.

They all noticed the horrified look on Luka's face. Alya brightened, "Are you connecting dots?" Luka nodded,

"Y...Yes. And if I'm right...I really don't want to be." He got up, "Alya, can you put out on the Ladyblog that I need to talk to Ladybug?" Alya shrugged,

"Sure, but Marinette is the one who personally knows Ladybug." Both Chloe and Lila were taken aback.

"Ladybug and I are close! Otherwise, I wouldn't be Queen Bee!"

"Ladybug and I are best friends!" 

"Enough," Luka said calmly, but his tone also brooked no argument, "Thank you, Alya, I'll go talk to Marinette." He left, and the class continued their train of thought.

"While Luka tries to find the cause," Ivan mused, "Has it occurred to any of us that if Adrien were so miserable as to think about _ that _, wouldn't his emotions be a gold mine for Hawk Moth?"

"I didn't think about that." Chloe realized, "So that means either a) he resisted the Akuma the same way Cole and I did, or b) Hawk Moth had a reason not to try akumatizing him." 

"You resisted an Akuma?" Kim asked. Chloe nodded, and Sabrina added on,

"The Akuma then went to me, and that's how Miracular came to be."

Mylene stood up, "Maybe Hawk Moth saw anything suicide-related as a line he can't cross? Marinette was dealing with the suicide of a friend, and she wasn't akumatized."

"There's that." Marc mused, "But is it possible that he has been resisting akumas. We all saw Cole flipping out after resisting two. Maybe the more he resisted, the weaker his heart became until his heart couldn't take it anymore and gave out at the next bad thing to happen."

"So it's Hawk Moth's fault!" Alix announced, "If we're gonna avenge Adrien, we need to take down Hawk Moth."

"No." Max insisted, "We do not need to avenge Adrien. We need to help him through this. Love and support are what he needs but in a subtle enough way that he doesn't feel we're just taking pity on him for having a heart attack."

"That makes sense." Alya checked her phone, "Aww. Nino just sent me a picture," it was of Adrien fast asleep, clinging to Cole, who was also asleep. 

Rose looked at the photo, "Cute! Cole seems like a good guy, and he could very well help Adrien." 

...

When Adrien woke up the first time, he had felt disoriented, and everything was blurry. As he woke up more and more and managed to speak short sentences, everything became clearer. When he woke up, his father was always there by his side, praising him for the longer spans of awareness. 

Since his father rarely gave him the time of day ever since his mom vanished, and he had to schedule days in advance to have a five-minute conversation, Adrien knew something awful had to have happened. The problem was that he didn't remember why he was in the hospital. 

The last thing he remembered before waking up here was feeling horrible pain in his chest. He'd been feeling it ever since Plagg was taken from him, so the only thing he had been worried about was the fact he had felt himself break into a cold sweat, and the desire to vomit. He suspected he had fainted but didn't know what had happened or how much time had passed. How long had he been unable to help Ladybug? How long had he been without Plagg? He had no idea, and it was driving him mad.

But this time, when he woke up, he didn't see his father. Instead, it was Nino and a boy who was achingly familiar but also unfamiliar. He knew he had never seen that boy in his life, but also felt he had known him for years.

Nino brightened, "Adrien! You're up!" He turned to the boy, "Plagg, he's up." Adrien's eyes widened as the boy woke from his slumber, momentarily revealing cat-like eyes.

This couldn't be real. Plagg was a cat and had been taken away. But right here was a boy with the same name and same eyes staring at him cheerfully. Adrien was dead, he was sure of that now. This was all him adjusting to the afterlife, and he had died that day. _ Good _, an unwelcome voice said in the back of his head, but he pushed it down.

"Adrien, can you hear us?" Nino asked. Adrien nodded, his voice still weak as he said,

"Yes. Plagg?" He said this both to get confirmation from the boy, and wondering if Nino knew the significance of that name. Judging by Nino's expression, he knew full well what Plagg meant to Adrien. Maybe Ladybug told him as Carapace?

The boy who was supposedly Plagg nodded, "Adrien, kitten, it's me. Fu told me what happened, and I broke the ring so I could shift. Now for the next three months, I am supposedly your bastard cousin, Cole."

Adrien still didn't believe it. He wanted to, but he was also sure this wasn't real. Or did people hate him so much as to play this cruel joke?

"Tell...me something...only Plagg would know." 'Cole' smiled softly,

"I'm sure there'll be another Chat Noir to give me cheese..." he paused with a sad expression, "but he won't be you."

The same thing Plagg had said when they were alone, and Adrien was thinking about quitting since Ladybug wouldn't tell him anything.

Adrien's lip quivered as he realized this was real. Plagg was really right here, as a human being. It really was him. Adrien broke down sobbing, clinging to Plagg, still making sure he was really here.

"You're back." He whispered, and at last, the clenching on his heart let up a tiny bit. He still felt horrible, but there was someone that gave him a reason to go on. He cared about his friends, but he couldn't show his real self to them, but he could to Plagg.

Plagg turned to Nino, grabbing him to join in the hug. And for a second, everything was right in the world, Adrien let himself forget about everything else.

The moment was ruined when his body told him that saying a couple words and crying had taken up his energy, and he felt himself drifting back into the realm of slumber.

"Stay...please..." he managed to say before he was out cold.

...

Nino turned to Plagg with a sad expression, "He needs you right now more than he needs me. You're the one that got taken from him. I'll tell the class you're feeling unwell and decided to sleep in here with Adrien."

"Thank you, Nino. But you should spend time with him too." Nino gestured to Adrien, who was fast asleep clinging to Plagg's torso,

"I think he needs you more at this moment since losing you was the final straw. But don't think I won't be spending time with my best friend. I'll bring you the homework." Plagg then let himself give in to his own exhaustion and laid back on the bed and brushed back a strand of Adrien's hair. Then he was asleep, not noticing Nino take a picture of them.

OoOoO

The next day, Marinette decided she was going to talk to Cole about what she suspected about him. It wasn't hard to get him alone in the nurse's office during gym class since he couldn't participate due to his condition, and she was excused until her cough went away. She gave him some cheese bread to see how he would react. 

He was taken aback by the gesture, but nodded his thanks and ate quietly. Marinette watched as color bloomed on his paled face, which was not something ordinary. The more he ate, the healthier he looked.

"So...you're from Tibet." She asked, and he nodded,

"Yeah."

"So you know nothing about the Miraculous heroes?"

"Nothing except what's on the Ladyblog. The heroes haven't been out since there haven't been any dangers or akumas."

Marinette considered this, but she could see in his eyes that he knew something else. She looked to the gloves he wore,

"You wear a new pair every couple of hours. What are the gloves for?" Cole hesitated, looking at the gloves,

"Just a preference. I tend to...misplace others." She took one of his hands gently, and felt him tense as she removed one of his gloves, "Marinette, _ don't _!" He scrambled up, ripping his hands away from her.

She gasped when she saw the skin was dark black, such a dark color as though it was destroying the light around it and becoming an endless void.

Looking in his eyes, he was scared. Terrified really, as he backed away from Marinette. She softened as she realized her initial theory had been right.

Standing up, she kept her hands up to show she meant no harm, "Plagg, relax. It's me. It's Ladybug, you know me." Plagg stammered a bit, and Marinette watched his other glove melt away. Ah, so that's what was happening to them.

"Plagg? Who's Plagg?" He asked, clearly lying, but the moment he realized he wasn't fooling anybody, he slid down the wall and tried to keep his blackened hands from touching anything as he wept and gasped for air repeatedly, "I'm hopeless."

Tikki emerged, "Plagg, she only guessed because she knew you had been freed. The others are still fooled." This didn't seem to calm Plagg out of his oncoming panic, and Tikki panicked as she saw the earth cracking under him, "Breathe, Plagg, breathe. In your nose, out of your mouth." As Tikki spoke, held his shoulders, looking directly into his eyes as they switched between human and cat. She hummed a quiet melody designed to calm down cats, and it did the trick on Plagg, as his hands returned to the human color, and he relaxed.

"It's alright, Plagg. I won't tell anybody." Marinette assured, "I'm trying to help. I'm sorry I caught you off guard." Plagg nodded a little,

"Yeah. I just really suck at hiding this. It's only been four days with me around people." Marinette put a hand on his shoulder,

"Relax, you're new at this. With practice, it will get easier. The class just worries about having made a bad impression on you with how jumpy you are." She frowned, "Do you struggle with your powers?"

"Yes." Tikki was the one who answered, "While the others had dangerous powers, they were meant to be used for good, so I wasn't worried. They knew how to handle it for good, but it could be used for bad if they wanted. Plagg though...I was foolish and saw only death and darkness in his powers. So I didn't let him practice, hoping he would never come into his powers. But he did, and now it's coming back to bite me in this situation."

"Oh." She saw that Plagg didn't hold any resentment towards his sister, probably because he had known this his entire life, but he did look sad, "Well, darkness doesn't mean evil. Just look at Chat. He uses your powers, and he is one of the best guys I've ever met." Something dawned on her. She'd denied it, but if this was really Plagg, that meant...

"Adrien is Chat Noir..." she whispered, a sigh escaping her. He hadn't tried to kill himself. But...she was the cause of his broken heart. She made him Aspik; she forced the secret identities, preventing him from talking to her; she had made him think he hated her due to her inability to speak to him; _ she _ was the reason he got Plagg taken away from him. She might as well have ripped his heart out of his chest.

_ Wow, _ her inner voice chastised, _ for someone who claims to love him with all your heart, you're a pretty terrible friend to him. _

She didn't comprehend she was crying until she felt warm arms around her. Plagg's arms. Tikki was nuzzled in her hair.

"He's never going to forgive me," Marinette choked out, "I broke him." 

"Sure he will," Plagg said with a soft grin, "He adores you. Loves you even. I can sneak you into the hospital if you want." Marinette shook her head,

"I'm going to go there myself tonight. That way, I can make sure not to be disturbed." Plagg shrugged,

"Suit yourself. Also, best you tell him what happened since he doesn't know. He always falls asleep before people tell him. He's usually awake for around thirty minutes now unless he tries to do activities like a restroom or talking or eating."

"Thanks." She frowned as Plagg started coughing, "Are you okay? You probably don't have chronic fatigue. What's really happening?"

"I'm exhausted. Keeping my form up is easier said than done. I'm just lucky Adrien won't be transforming anytime soon because I, in this state, could damage him during a transformation. Do you by any chance have any more food?" Marinette nodded, digging into her bag. Plagg scarfed down the food as fast as she gave it to him. 

Tikki looked concerned, "Let me know if you ever need me, brother. I can feel when you are in danger, but I can tell you need me emotionally too." Plagg shrugged,

"I have been taught to be dependent on you. But I think I can handle myself, sugarcube. Besides, I live in a huge mansion with Adrien and can buy as much cheese as I want. Gabe's already got a soft spot for me, so I'll be fine." Marinette chuckled, seeing why he and Adrien got along. She looked to the door she had locked when coming in here, 

"The bell's probably gonna ring." She looked to the cracks on the ground, before throwing a rug over it, only for Tikki to make a gesture and the cracks vanished.

Plagg put on some new gloves—wow, he had a ton of pairs, Marinette noted—and grabbed his backpack, "We should go, before they start to miss us." He grinned, "I'm glad you know the truth now. The secret identities always annoyed me. So many hours of Adrien going on and on about his undying love for Ladybug but stressing out about whether or not telling you he was a famous model would change your feelings or if it's worth it..." he didn't notice the guilty look on her face as he opened the door, where Nino was waiting for them.

Marinette sighed. She knew she had to hear that. But she realized how poorly she had treated Chat Noir. No wonder he had a broken heart.

The worst part was looking back to when Sentibug died. When Hawk Moth had Chat captive, and she'd had Mayura. It had been Hawk Moth to initiate the method of trade—tossing their respective hostage off a building—it had been _ him _ to decide his partner was more important than the Miraculous. Not her. He'd run past her and not bothered with her earrings, while she had been debating taking a quick dive for the brooch.

The fact Hawk Moth, the villain, was better to his partner than she was to hers _ hurt _. He'd left his lair to save her.

Yes, she had chosen Chat Noir in the end, but she had hesitated. And when they swapped Miraculous, she hadn't helped him, she'd made fun of him and taken over. Had Hawk Moth made fun of Mayura at any point? And the fact she was viewing the two villains as how she and her partner should be towards each other was a serious issue. 

They probably knew the other's identity from the beginning. That had to be the key. If Marinette had known Adrien was Chat Noir, she would have gone for Luka from the start and saved her partner's mind.

Suddenly the 25,913 rescue attempts made sense, and why Chat Noir was so protective of her after that. He'd lived through three months worth of failure. And what did she do? Ask him what was wrong, but not push for him to open up, not assure him that his mental state was more important than anything. Oh, how she wished she could turn back the clock.

She then jolted up from where she had been sitting on the chair. Thoughts like this would get her akumatized. She had to shake it off. She'd talk to him tonight, but what would she possibly say to Adrien?

OoOoO

That night, Ladybug unlocked the window to Adrien's hospital room, and came in, both horrified and relieved by the sight of him awake and watching television. She'd kind of hoped he would be asleep. But here he was, awake.

He looked towards her, "Oh. Hello Ladybug." He muted the television, but let the screen be used as a light, "What is it?" Looking at him, her heart broke when she saw there was still endless love in his eyes, but it was overridden by equally bottomless despair. He always loved her, but his confidence was now shaken.

She sat down beside her, "Adrien..." she felt she should start with how he got here, "Do you know what happened?"

"No. I don't know what happened, just that I've been here for four days."

"Well..." she sucked in a breath, "You had a heart attack, from broken heart syndrome. You were in a coma for two weeks."

"Oh." He sighed, "I'm sorry, Ladybug."

"What for?" She asked worriedly. He looked to her with eyes so full of pain she wanted to shriek,

"For not being a better partner to you. It's too late to change the past, but I know that you will never take me back after my failures." 

She knew he was referring to Chat Noir, but he could also be referring to Aspik, and that clenched her heart painfully. He hated himself, and that was clear. He had said it when they had talked to each other before she made the terrible mistake of getting Plagg taken away, and she knew that he just felt that even more.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't tell Adrien she knew who he was. He would either close off completely, too ashamed to talk to her, or he would hate her. Even if he had Plagg back, the fact he lost his kwami in the first place was the problem. And if he found out Plagg was risking himself to be there...

"Adrien," she said, placing her hand on his, and let a tear fall as he looked genuinely shocked, "the blame is mine for what happened. The punishment was unfairly yours. But even if it was your fault, you're human."

"But I'm supposed to be perfect at everything!" He hugged himself, "But I'm barely passable at most things." She wanted to grab his shoulders and knock some sense into him. Where was that dorky pun-loving partner? That boy was nowhere to be found, and she felt that even if she had found him, he was still as missing as he had been when she hadn't known his identity.

She bit her lip, before standing and kissing his forehead.

"Adrien, you're loved so much more than you know. May troubles be far from your mind..." Ladybug got up to leave before she lost it, but she turned back to him from where she was in the window, "And forgive me for being so blind."

OoOoO

Nathalie snuck through the mansion and to Gabriel's room, where she saw her partner-in-crime caught in a restless sleep. She heard him whimpering and even crying. A nightmare, she realized. He'd been having a lot of those ever since Emilie was lost, and especially when Adrien had a heart attack. 

She shook herself as she realized she was watching him sleep. No, she had a goal in mind. So she unclipped the moth brooch from his shirt since he had fallen asleep in his everyday attire, and she pocketed the Miraculous, going to the observatory. This way she could help Gabriel. He needed Emilie back, but he also needed to be there for Adrien. He had told her of his plan to take a break from designing, and she had opposed. He loved doing that. But he was right that he couldn't be everywhere at once.

"Nooroo, dark wings rise." She transformed into Mariposa, which was mostly a genderswap of Hawk Moth with a simple silver butterfly mask instead of the entire setup. Her black hair was out of its bun, and her red streak had turned light purple.

Even if Chat Noir was still on mental leave, getting Ladybug's Miraculous and maybe that of Rena Rouge was better than nothing. And if anything got him back on the field, Ladybug being defeated indeed would. 

She grinned as she felt a negative emotion. And she gasped as she realized it was that of Ladybug. Guilt, crushing guilt, and heartache.

If she managed to catch Ladybug off guard, then maybe... she activated an Akuma,

"Fly away, my beautiful Akuma, and evilize Paris' hero!"

...

Ladybug sighed from where she sat on the usual spot she and Chat Noir met for patrols. Even with Rena Rouge occasionally, the patrol wasn't the same without him. And even when he came back, what if her partner really was dead? The boy he had been, gone forever. She wasn't sure what was worse. Him being actually dead, or his spirit being broken possibly beyond repair?

She hadn't even gotten around to talking to Luka yet. He undoubtedly wanted to ask about Adrien. How would she face that kind boy with what she had done? 

Ladybug wept, not noticing the Akuma coming ever closer to her. 

"Ladybug! Look out!" She gasped as she saw Plagg grab the Akuma and destroy it in his hands. The only reason she knew it was him was that he was taking the form of Chat Noir, and there was no way Adrien could be filling that role.

He hopped down with her, "Judging by the fact an Akuma went after you, I'd say the talk didn't go as well as hoped?" She wiped her eyes,

"If by didn't go well, you mean it didn't happen, then it really went badly. I told him what happened, and tried to talk to him...but he's so broken..." Plagg softened, holding her close, and Ladybug pretended Chat Noir was the one holding her, and that he was okay.

"Just be careful with the akumas, okay? I can't come to your rescue all the time unless I really want to hurt in the morning." He helped her up, "Well, I was going to go surprise-check on Adrien, but I know I won't be in good shape, and my goal is to hide my weakness from him as long as possible."

Ladybug sighed, "Sorry, I once again deprived you of time with him."

"It's fine. I'll just skip school tomorrow. No point in even trying at school when I'm only here for three months, then it's back in the ring for me." Ladybug shrugged, knowing he had a point.

And so, the two went separate ways. Marinette went back home to distract herself with homework, and Plagg went back to the mansion, only to collapse and curl up next to the fireplace.

"You better know I love you, Adrien. I wouldn't go through this for anybody else." He gasped, before passing out by the fire. 


	7. Chapter 7

A week later, Adrien was allowed out of the hospital, assuming he remained on bed rest for at the minimum another week.

Gabriel was thrilled to have his son back home, meaning it was less of a hassle to check on him. But he was less excited about Nathalie stealing his Miraculous, but her points were excellent, and if she wasn't using the peacock, he didn't see an issue here.

So here he was, spending time with Adrien. Or rather, trying to. He knew he needed to start mending things with Adrien. But, he had no idea where to start. He had fooled himself the past couple of years, that everything was okay. That everything had been fine between him and Adrien. And now that his bubble had been popped. He had no idea how to go about fixing things with Adrien. Nooroo was right that the neglect played a part in his son's broken heart.

Gabriel sat in the dining room, with Nathalie sitting next to him. She could see he was struggling with what to do next.

"Gabriel, is there something I can do that might help you?" Nathalie asked.

"Not unless you can tell me how to fix the mess I've created with Adrien," Gabriel replied sadly, and he noticed Cole was listening from where he ate lunch quietly. It was impressive how such a scrawny boy could eat so much. But maybe Cole could give some pointers, as the boy had known Adrien and his situation for months.

"You just need to start from the beginning." Cole suggested before Nathalie could, "Go see how he is feeling, and let him talk to you about it, and don't get defensive about anything. Even if it's not true in your mind, it is in his." 

Gabriel sighed and knew Cole was right. He had to start somewhere. So, why not start with the disappearance of Emilie? At least he would have a starting platform.

After finishing lunch, Cole agreed to go to school for a bit, so father-and-son could have some alone time. Gabriel went to Adrien's room. He just allowed himself in, to find Adrien on his sofa playing some kind of video game. In a bag next to him were the seashells Nino had left while Adrien was in a coma.

Gabriel walked over, and Adrien didn't even take notice of his father at first. Gabriel felt terrible when he saw his son. Adrien's face was red, probably cause he had been crying, and the dark smudges had returned under his eyes, albeit not as apparent as they had been when he first went under. And Adrien looked like he was only playing these games to try and distract himself from the pain he was feeling.

Gabriel sat by his son. Finally catching Adrien's attention, Adrien paused the game and looked over at his father.

"Do you need something, father?" Adrien asked, his voice completely empty, as though there was a void in his very soul. He had seen Adrien smile when Cole was around, and he wanted to be a cause of that smile. 

"Um, no... I just wanted to come to check on you. I haven't seen you much in the past month-ish. And—well—you know—I guess—how have you been, son?" Gabriel asked.

Adrien simply gave his father a look which made Gabriel know that was the dumbest question he could have asked at this moment in time. Well duh, he had only recently come out of a coma from a broken heart.

Adrien finally sighed, "As well as you can expect. I'm just trying to numb my thoughts with games."

Gabriel nodded, "Yes, I see that. I know these past couple months have been hard for you. And I never really got the chance to talk to you... and make sure you were okay."

"I'll be fine, father. You don't have to worry about me. I know you must be busy with work. And are probably just in here 'cause Nathalie or Cole told you to check on me. You don't have to waste your time on me. I will be fine." Adrien replied.

Gabriel was at a loss for words. Why would Adrien think he was wasting his time by checking on him? _ It's because you have been a horrible father! _

"I'm not wasting my time." He insisted, "I wanted to come in and see how you were. No one had to tell me to check on you."

Adrien put the game controller down, scrutinizing his father with those dead eyes that used to be overflowing with life and joy, "Okay, well I guess that's nice of you. But I know you're just doing this because of my heart attack. You normally never care about how I feel or care about what I'm going through. So, can you please just leave me to my games?"

"Adrien, please, I am trying here at least," Gabriel begged, "I know I've not been the best, and it shouldn't have taken a tragedy to make me realize—"

"Just get out, father! You've never tried at all for three years! So, why is now different?! I don't want to talk! I just want to be left alone!" Adrien snapped, his lip quivering now.

After a moment of silence, Gabriel sighed and left his son's room. As he headed back to his office, Adrien's words rang in his head like a bell.

He went down to Emilie's coffin, lamenting to her as he called Cole to cheer Adrien up, "This is going to be harder than I thought. And it's all my fault."

...

Plagg was summoned back to the mansion and immediately went to perk Adrien up.

"Adrien!" He moaned loudly, rubbing his cheek against Adrien's in a manner much like a cat, before flopping onto Adrien's lap and making loud, obnoxious noises.

"Oh come on," Adrien said, trying to sound angry, but instead smiling a tiny bit, and a faint light twinkled in his eyes as Plagg continued to behave like a cat and get in his way. 

When that didn't spark enough of a response for Plagg's liking, he chose a different tactic, getting up and jamming out on the piano.

Adrien turned, "You play the piano?"

"I have plenty of talents besides eating cheese, young man. Wanna join?" He grinned when Adrien nodded, sitting down beside him, playing a duet together. Neither noticed Gabriel and Nathalie hiding by the doorway, watching as Adrien smiled while playing the melody with his dear friend.

When the song was over, Adrien laughed and rested his head on Plagg's shoulder with a laugh,

"Only Mom could make me laugh like that. Thanks..." he noticed his father standing there, "Cole." Plagg ruffled Adrien's hair,

"No problem." He looked up at Gabriel, "I..."

Gabriel bowed his head, leaving.

OoOoO

Ladybug landed on the Liberty and walked down into Luka's room. She found him playing a somber melody on his guitar,

"Marinette said you wanted to see me." Luka looked up, putting his guitar down,

"Oh. Yes." He stood up, "I wanted to talk to you about the events of Desperada."

"Oh. You did really well as Viperion." She said and noticed Luka sigh.

"Be honest with me, Ladybug. Adrien was the first choice, wasn't he?" Ladybug flinched, knowing he was onto something.

"Yes. Adrien was. He tried, and after many attempts, he decided you would be the better choice." Luka nodded to himself, 

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know." He continued playing his sad melody, and Ladybug felt even worse. She didn't know what to say to make him feel better since he clearly had an idea of what had happened to Adrien. So she left, noticing Luka messaging someone.

"Hey," he called to her, "It's not your fault. I can tell you think that."

Ladybug sighed, "Luka, I am more to blame than you can imagine."

OoOoO

Over the next few days. Gabriel tried everything he could think of to get on Adrien's good side. He bought him the newest video games, and even a brand new phone. He allowed Adrien's friends to come over—he'd let Adrien go out. However, he was supposed to still be on bed rest—but was disappointed that Adrien always wound up annoyed that everyone except Nino and Marinette was endlessly asking what had happened. 

Nothing seemed to work. Adrien was still giving his father the cold shoulder, and Gabriel was running out of ideas.

One day, Gabriel was in his office, pacing once again. Nathalie stood nearby and watched him.

"I can't seem to figure out how to get Adrien to see that I am truly sorry for how I have treated him. I've done all I can think of! Video games, a new phone, his friends, nothing seems to work. Whenever I try to talk to Adrien and tell him just how sorry I am, he just gets angry and tells me I don't care about him. Or he just gives me the cold shoulder. How am I suppose to get through to him?" Gabriel asked.

Nathalie sighed, "Sir, this is not going to be easy. You have dug a pretty deep hole, and your gonna have to figure out how to crawl out of it. You can fix things with Adrien. But that is going to be hard."

"So, what do you think I should do?" Gabriel asked.

"Why don't you get in contact with Nino? Nino will know what Adrien wants from you. He is his best friend, after all. I'm sure he talks to him about that kind of stuff." 

Gabriel got on the phone, dialing Nino.

_ "Hello?" _

"Nino, it's Mr. Agreste. I need to talk to you about Adrien."

_ "Oh, hello, Mr. Agreste. How can I help you? Is everything alright with Adrien?" _

"Yes, yes, he's physically fine...I just need to know if you can help me figure something out, to handle the mental side."

_ "Sure, what do you need help with?" _

"I need to know what Adrien has said about our relationship." Gabriel said guiltily, "And what he wanted to have happened between us."

_ "Oh, well, whenever I asked him about you and the relationship he has with you, he normally shrugs it off. There have been a few times he's said he would like things from you. Like you eating dinner with him, giving him the time of day, coming to his fencing matches, or basketball games. But there's not much else I can think of." _ Nino answered.

"Please, Nino, there has to be _ something _ Adrien has told you. That can help me fix my relationship with him." Gabriel begged.

_ "I'm sorry. I want to help, but...well, wait, there was something Adrien told me a few months back. And it might help. We were talking about his mom and other stuff. The conversation switched to how you use to be before your wife vanished. Adrien said you use to be pretty cool. He said you were kind, funny, would spend every moment you had available with him. But, he said once his mom was gone, you changed for the worst. Adrien said you became cold and distant. He said he felt like you couldn't care less that he was around as anything other than a source of income and financial gain. I know that's not your feelings, but I don't think Adrien does. Honesty, Mr. Agreste, I think Adrien just needs to hear you say that you love him, and reassure him that you are happy he's your son." _Nino said.

Gabriel sighed, and now he believed he couldn't feel any worst. He quietly thanked Nino and hung up the phone before throwing it to the side.

"I'm assuming that conversation went well," Nathalie muttered.

"No, I don't think I can handle any more guilt. I've done what Nino suggested, but Adrien didn't believe me. He said that I only care for a couple days after he nearly dies, and then things go back to normal. It's sad, but unfortunately true." He sat down and massaged his temples. 

Nathalie noticed the Butterfly Miraculous light up brightly, sensing Gabriel's despair as past actions came back to bite him.

"I might be able to help." They both turned and saw Cole, who had a blanket wrapped around him. He once again looked weak and exhausted, so Gabriel made a note to get him more food since he seemed to recover some energy after eating.

"How would you manage that?" Gabriel asked hopefully as Nathalie concealed the Butterfly Miraculous from view. Cole smiled,

"You have not been able to get Adrien to forgive you or trust you. But he trusts me and values what I say. I'm one of his closest friends. This means I have some influence. I can get him to reach out a bit and give you a chance, but you need to go the extra mile and prove his attempts won't end in suffering."

Nathalie noticed Gabriel's expressed, "Sir, Cole's right. If you don't let Cole help, then I fear you and Adrien won't be able to fix anything. I've already got therapy scheduled for him, but you fixing your relationship with him will be a huge step in helping him through his depression."

Gabriel said nothing for several moments, before nodding.

"Yes. Thank you, Cole. And go get something from the fridge, you're getting pale again." Cole nodded cheerfully and walked off.

OoOoO

As much as Adrien loved having Plagg around again, he did miss him being in cat form a little bit, because it made it easier to hide him places. Now, he was expected to leave Adrien's room and return to his own at 11:00pm sharp. It didn't help that the last couple of years with Plagg had left him struggling to sleep without the kwami. He couldn't sleep alone anymore.

So here he was, creeping down the halls of the mansion, noticing Nathalie walk into the office. He hadn't known until recently that she lived here in a spare room that was the size of a small apartment, so she was probably getting some extra work done.

He crept into Plagg's room and noticed his friend reading quietly from the grimoire, Master Fu beside him.

"Now, Plagg, this passage shows you how to practice cataclysm on a small thing—hello, Adrien." Adrien's eyes widened, seeing the man here. Flashbacks ran through his mind,

_ "You are no longer worthy." _

_ "I'm sorry, Adrien, but Ladybug requires a better partner. Someone she can trust." _

_ "You are in no state to wield the power of death." _

_ "You had a second chance, and you blew it when you debated quitting over Ladybug not telling you anything." _

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM FROM ME AGAIN!" Adrien grabbed a lamp and threw it at the guardian, forcing himself between guardian and kwami, tears spilling from his eyes as he took deep breaths, "Not again...never again."

Plagg put a hand on Adrien's shoulder, "Adrien, it's okay, you don't understand." Adrien was holding the broken lamp in his hands, with the fractured lightbulb working like a knife, but his hands were shaking so much that he was barely holding it.

Master Fu's eyes were full at the wild look in Adrien's glassy eyes. It wasn't that he refused to lose Plagg again, he couldn't. He relied too heavily on Plagg for mental stability. The guardian realized that taking Plagg was an even more significant mistake than expected, and he took the kwami at the worst possible time, and now Adrien was broken.

"Adrien, listen to Plagg, I'm not here to take him away. I doubt I would succeed even if I tried. I'm here to help him with his powers. He struggles to control them in this form, and Tikki asked me to take care of that issue." 

"Not here to take him... Not here to take him..." Adrien repeated this to himself a couple times, getting more worked up every time he said it until he dropped the lamp and curled into a little ball, crying and begging for forgiveness and to please not take him away now with the outburst.

Plagg held Adrien close, "I would have warned you if I didn't find him randomly in my bedroom. What were you even doing in here?"

"I couldn't sleep." He muttered quietly, "It's dumb, I know." Plagg smiled a little, letting his cat tendencies take over and licking Adrien's tears away.

"It's not dumb, Adrien. You're used to not sleeping alone. I'm going to be practicing with Fu tonight, and I'm pretty sure he's too afraid of me to try anything. How about you go curl up with your dad?" Adrien looked away,

"He doesn't care about me. Once I'm back in school, he'll go back to pretending I'm just his employee and not his child. I don't know why it took losing everything to realize that." Plagg sighed,

"Adrien, I swear on a month's worth of camembert that he's actively trying to get better. He was asking Nino for advice about you. This doesn't excuse what he's done in the past, but consider this your last chance with him. If he screws up, ditch him. But give him a chance." He cupped Adrien's cheek, "Can you at least try, for me? If he hurts you again, so help me, camembert gods..." Adrien laughed a little bit,

"Okay. I'll try it." He got up, looking to the broken lamp, "Sorry, Master, about..."

"It's alright, Adrien. The damage I have done to you deserves much worse than having a lamp pointed at me." Adrien smiled a little bit, but it didn't reach his eyes. Plagg ruffled Adrien's hair, messing it up, and that got a genuine smile,

"Now go cuddle your dad, or I'll show you the glory of El Plago. It's been maturing ever since I first arrived in the mansion, so it now smells _ delightful _." He saw Adrien cringe and walk off, sighing as he opened the door to his father's room, only to find his father awake and writing something.

"What are you writing?" Gabriel shot upright so abruptly that his chair fell backward, taking him with it. His father smacked his head against the floor painfully. Adrien backed up a little, still caring about his father and feeling terrible for causing that. He put walls up to protect himself, but he always loved Gabriel dearly.

Gabriel sat up, rubbing his head, "What are you doing up? Shouldn't you have gone to bed an hour ago?" He looked to the paper, "I...It's kind of embarrassing."

Adrien blushed, "I...had a nightmare. Cole was already asleep, and he said for me to come in here. But I probably shouldn't disturb you."

"No no, Adrien, it's fine. I was just about to head to sleep myself. Though now I know I'm not going insane when I thought I heard screaming." He started putting the paper in his desk, but Adrien saw the writing was addressed to him,

_ My dearest son, _

_ I don't know how to say this... _

He couldn't see any more of it before the paper was gone and he was being sat down in bed and held tightly as his father turned off the light. It was nice, he admitted, being held like this. He hadn't been held like this since his mom vanished.

"Goodnight, son." Adrien smiled a tad bit, melting into the embrace,

"Goodnight, father."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The detail of Gabriel hearing the scream but not rushing to see the issue does have a reason that will be brought up next chapter


	8. Chapter 8

Turns out, that one night sleeping together as father and son was a good start for restarting their relationship. Adrien had been warmer and more open that morning, and that was a good start. 

But when he told Nathalie about hearing the scream and had considered himself paranoid since he checked and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, since the source of the cry would have come running, she insisted he should have looked more into it. 

He had dreaded it was Cole seeing Adrien having a heart attack, or Adrien saw Cole unconscious and not waking...he knew it wouldn't be Adrien in the middle of a heart attack since apparently, that was just in the movies. It was more common—45% of people, Adrien included—for someone having a heart attack to not even know they were having one. Screaming from a heart attack is much more uncommon.

Nathalie pointed out that checking on Adrien would have been a good idea, just in case. Even if it was his own paranoia, even a nightmare could send Adrien over the edge since he was still delicate. So now he was going to acknowledge all the screams, even if he was hallucinating. The problem was he did hear screams at night, all the time, but doctors had said that was a common form of hallucination, and it was likely triggered from the guilt of losing Emilie. Well, time to listen to those screams again. 

God, why did this have to be so hard? He wanted to keep Adrien safe. Still, he also didn't want to seem like he was way too paranoid and overprotective, which could be a sharp turn-off when it comes to fixing relationships, according to articles and books he had read. Being not protective enough could get him killed, but too protective will turn Adrien against him, refuse to tell him if he needs help, and get him killed. There was no way to win here!

So, he decided to make sure and took Adrien to Dr. Malani to make sure he didn't damage his heart. Thankfully, Adrien didn't fight him on this, understanding that it was just worrying and a nightmare could have set off an issue. According to the doctor, there was a jolt, but not an actual heart attack, but they still needed to keep him in the hospital for the day just to be sure. Adrien was also prescribed to take a medication called Brilinta, which was used to lower the chance of having a heart attack, and especially reducing the chance of dying from it. 

While they were at it, Gabriel got a check-up for Cole. Since Dr. Chan was supposedly back in Tibet, he just had Dr. Malani look Cole over. But what came from this was extremely unexpected.

After getting some blood drawn, Dr. Malani started asking questions,

"Now, Cole, I need you to answer these questions to the best of your ability. Be thorough. While fatigue may be affecting you most, other symptoms—such as memory problems or headaches—also are important to share with me." Cole nodded, clearly a bit nervous and taking deep breaths.

"Okay. I can try...my doctor has always told me it's not that big a deal." Gabriel noticed how unnerved he was while saying that. It was human nature to assume the worst, so that had to be it. He didn't seem like the type to be knowingly hiding something. 

Dr. Malani nodded to himself, looking towards the computer, "I know you have the constantly tired feeling and have collapsed. The diagnosis was chronic fatigue syndrome, correct?"

"Yes."

"Have you felt any form of mental fog?" Cole cocked his head,

"Mental fog?"

"Lack of focus, lack of mental clarity, slower decision making, forgetfulness, fatigue and irritability, poor concentration, low energy, slowed learning, and processing time."

"Oh, well, then yes. Irritability, poor concentration, and low energy. Why?" Dr. Malani looked up, cleaning his black-rimmed glasses,

"Do you have trouble sleeping?"

"No. I tend to nod off at any time." That got a worried look from the doctor, and he took note of it on the computer. He turned back to Cole,

"Poor circulation?" At Cole's odd look, he clarified, "Unusually cold."

"Yes."

"Are you more sensitive to external stimuli like noise?" Cole pondered this, shrugging a little bit. Then the doctor thought about something, writing it down,

"Do you feel anxiety?"

"Sometimes." Dr. Malani crossed his arms, getting up and gesturing for Cole and Gabriel to follow,

"Okay. You're lucky we have a sleep lab here in the hospital. I want to test something." He sat Cole down on the bed, handing him a clipboard, "I want you to take this test, and then in two hours, I will monitor you while you sleep."

Gabriel frowned, "What's going on? He's already diagnosed." Dr. Malani nodded,

"Yes, but I think there's more to the story. We'd normally have him get off medications and keep a sleep journal two weeks prior, but the last week from what we've seen has this pattern of behavior as normal with no mediations, correct?" Cole nodded. Dr. Malani took note,

"Good. Someone will go through the blood work, but for now, just do what you would normally do before sleep."

"That's kind of hard to do in a lab." Cole muttered under his breath, "Am I permitted to be alone?" Both adults looked to each other, before shrugging,

"Um...okay? But no sleeping right now." They left, closing the door. And then Gabriel looked to Dr. Malani,

"So what are you testing for?"

"Narcolepsy. A neurological disorder that affects the control of sleep and wakefulness. People with narcolepsy experience excessive daytime sleepiness and intermittent, uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep. These sudden sleep attacks may occur during any type of activity at any time of the day. Narcolepsy usually begins between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, so Cole showing symptoms at seventeen tracks. The cataplexy that comes with it can cause symptoms ranging from slurred speech to total body collapse, depending on the muscles involved, and is often triggered by intense emotions such as surprise, laughter, or anger." Gabriel gasped quietly,

"So his collapse when he was almost akumatized..."

"Correct. I'd always seen the CFS diagnosis as a little odd, since chronic fatigue doesn't usually lead to the flipping out like he did, but narcolepsy does." He looked back to the room where Cole was, "I don't know why he would possibly want to be alone, but I also don't need to know yet. There's nothing in there that could be dangerous, so the worst he could do is use the treadmill."

"So what exactly is this test?" 

"Well, it's roughly 9pm right now. According to Adrien, 'bedtime' is around 11pm. So while Adrien is here, we're going to keep Cole here monitored as he sleeps overnight. Looking at the test, I just had him take, his symptoms follow along with narcolepsy as well." Gabriel had to sit down, running his hands through his hair and unintentionally messing it up.

"Can stress kill you?"

"There are several ways chronic stress can kill you. But it turns out it doesn't matter whether the stress comes from major events in life or from minor problems. The more stressed-out people have the highest risk of premature death." He then noticed Gabriel's exasperated expression, "You were talking about yourself, weren't you?"

"Yes. Yes, I was." He huffed, already realizing there was a good chance he'd die before Emilie returned. Maybe he was a tad bit dramatic, but Adrien had a broken heart, was in a coma, and was back in the hospital being monitored; and his nephew had all kinds of issues.

He didn't notice the Akuma going near him until it was too late.

_ "Estresse, I am Mariposa. Look, let me cut to the chase, Gabriel, you're insanely stressed right now and could probably make a decent Akuma. And this is even more proof to keep your identity hidden. Wanna do it?" _

_ Fine, just don't make the outfit horrendous. And let me have my own mind intact, I'm not going near Adrien or Cole. _

With that, he let himself be akumatized.

...

Ladybug battled Estresse, who was one of the first to have a fashionable outfit as a villain. Unlike the first time he was akumatized, Gabriel's outfit was jet back with dark blue stripes on the sides and a dark blue butterfly-shaped mask. His hair was still platinum blonde, but much messier, kind of reminding her of Chat Noir in a sense, which made her heart hurt.

She had figured out the object was the now-obsidian watch on his wrist, but he could blast someone and give them a panic attack, as proven by what had happened to Rena Rouge, but if even affected someone within a five-foot radius of him. So she couldn't get near him at all, without hyperventilating and ending up defenseless.

She was shocked to see Chat Noir next to her, but she quickly realized by the fact there was no undying love in his green eyes that it was actually Plagg. 

"Okay...I'm sorry, I can't call you Chat. That's an Adrien-only thing." She whispered, and Plagg shrugged,

"That's fine. Just call me Hēi Māo, since that was the name of my least-terrible owner. Adrien's the best, but the one I refer too was least-terrible of the others."

"Okay. Hēi, Estresse's power works even if you just go near him. We need to get the watch, but also not get within five feet of him. He's also extremely talented in hand-to-hand combat."

Plagg grabbed her and darted to a different building as Estresse found them, "Alright, so maybe you should use the Lucky Charm?"

"Lucky Charm!" A picture of Adrien appeared in her hands. She sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know that already! But I've got Hēi, so put up with it!"

"Look, Gabriel's powers right now cause stress lethally. It seems quick blink-and-you-miss-it contact leads to a panic attack, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone around him for long periods dies, judging by the people in the streets. So since we aren't entirely sure Miraculous Ladybug brings things back from the dead, we need to keep him up on the rooftops. I think I can get the watch, but you need to trust me on this."

"I thought I was the one in charge." Ladybug snapped, and Plagg gave her an annoyed deadpan look,

"Consider this good practice for equality when Chat comes back." He gestured to the yoyo, "Use that to grab the watch."

"I've tried, but he can deflect it." Plagg grinned mischievously, but then his eyes widened, and he pulled Ladybug away, just barely escaping a blast from Estresse, who had a wild maniac expression like he was seconds away from snapping even more. Though this made sense since his power, for all intents and purposes, was stress. 

Ladybug was startled and panicked as Estresse got closer to Plagg, close enough to affect him, and the ground started cracking beneath him. Plagg dove off the building, Ladybug close behind, followed be Estresse, who was completely silent other than a broken laugh.

She was amazed that Plagg was able to keep himself relatively calm in the face of Estresse's power, but saw the ground was still cracking under his feet. But the way he was jumping around... it was creating a hole surrounding Estresse.

Estresse noticed this, flipping over Plagg's head and jumping onto a lamp-post, swinging a bit,

"You think I'll let you take my Akuma from me?" He asked, his voice trembling, far different from the usually stoic designer. But she supposed all of this happening with Adrien, anyone was bound to stress out. "I have lost so much, now I'm learning nothing is going to ever be normal and okay. And now the world is going to feel my pain!" He sent a blast at Plagg, who dodged it, pulling out his baton and going for the watch, but getting thrown back.

Ladybug, now knowing Plagg actually needed help, rushed to help him, momentarily forgetting about the stress affecting someone near the villain. She fell to her knees, and all her fears and self-hating thoughts appeared in her mind,

_ "Ladybug? Grand superheroine of Paris? Please, you're just a little girl in tight spandex who can't even keep her own partner safe." _

_ "Adrien will be disgusted by you if he finds out who you are. To think, sweet Marinette Dupain-Cheng tore his heart to shreds." _

She swore she was hallucinating when she saw Adrien standing before her, just like in her nightmares, staring at her with ice-cold hatred. He looked healthy here, not as underweight or drained as he was now.

"You killed me. The Chat Noir you knew is gone for good. But hey, this is what you wanted, isn't it? So I've granted your wish, M'Lady." He then vanished, fading from existence, just to show how she had watched him fade away,

"No! NO! Adrien, it's not true! I'm sorry! _ Please _!" She was hyperventilating, completely lost in her own stress and downright despair. She didn't hear her earrings warning her of two minutes left.

...

Estresse and Plagg both saw how Ladybug was defeated, the former sprinted for her to grab the earrings, only to fall into the void. Plagg gasped, just relieved the watch was left behind, which he broke, destroyed the Akuma, and grabbed Ladybug's yoyo,

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Everything returned to normal, and Gabriel was sitting stunned on the ground. Fortunately, he didn't seem to have been in the void long enough to be too severely affected. He helped his guardian up as Ladybug came back to her senses. She gasped as her earrings beeped, and she sprinted off after sending Plagg a grateful smile. 

Gabriel looked at Plagg, "Thank you, Chat Noir." He recoiled as he noticed there was still a gash on Plagg's cheek, from where he had been struck when he got punched, "May I ask...I remember everything. How did you get past that power?" Plagg smiled a bit,

"Simple, Mr. Agreste. I remembered there was still something worth fighting for." And he was stronger than Nooroo, so he wasn't affected as strongly.

Just thinking about the things he had thought and felt while under the influence made his blood run cold, and he had to run back to the hospital, letting himself weep at what he had seen and heard.

_ "You kill everything you touch. Everything you love gets taken from you. Adrien's probably next. So why risk yourself for a mortal? He'll grow old and die, and you'll still be here." _

He didn't let himself think about the immortality that recently hung over his head as a constant reminder that he might blink and miss everything. He and Tikki both would live forever, even if forced in shutdown, but a human would live for 27,375 days on average. Adrien had already used up 5948 days.

Sometimes, he wished he could give it all up. Immortality had brought nothing but pain. But no, Tikki was right, he had a duty as the God of Destruction. And he had to calm down before he destroyed something or wasted too much energy.

He phased through the bathroom wall in the room he had been assigned to. He'd always seen Adrien's bathroom excuses as dumb, but now he understood the reason since nobody would disturb him in here.

He gasped as he shifted back into Cole form and adrenaline stopped working and his knees buckled under him, falling into the door and barely managing to open it.

_ Cold...pain...tired...dying... pain... _

"Help..." he rasped, hearing somebody pounding on the door to the room since he'd locked the door into the main area, just to make sure nobody came in and noticed him missing. Oh, he regretted that right now.

_ "Plagg! Hang on, I'm coming!" _He heard Tikki shout down their bond, but Plagg knew he wasn't able to hold on. He let himself slip into a realm of endless darkness.

...

Tikki had been enjoying a cookie from a visibly shaken Marinette when she felt something she had never wanted to so much as consider. That bond she had with her twin, thinning and fraying and weakening. 

Plagg was going into shutdown.

No...she refused to accept that. She knew Marinette needed her right now, and here she was divided from saving her brother or being there for her owner. 

But she knew Marinette would understand since Tikki and Plagg had been side by side for millions of years. Obviously, she valued her brother's life over all else. He needed her. Besides, this would hopefully only take a minute, and she could get back to Marinette.

Inhaling the cookie faster than Plagg ate cheese, she flew to the hospital, hiding in a cabinet and watching an orderly break down the door, and the doctor bent at Plagg's side,

"Cole?" He shook him as the orderly got him up onto the bed, and other doctors started hooking Plagg up to the machines. 

Tikki launched herself down their bond, seeing him sinking into the darkness of a shutdown.

_ "Plagg!" _ Plagg didn't respond at all, and Tikki had no choice but to dive in after him, taking the frayed remains of their connection and pulling as hard as she could. Doing this would either save him, or she'd lose him. But she'd lose him if she didn't try, so the choice was obvious, _ "Please, Plagg, fight!" _

Something sparked in him, and she felt the fight become mutual and saw Plagg on the other end, weak but still kicking. She was able to pull him back, their spirits side by side as their bond returned to full strength. Plagg wasn't in danger of shutdown, but he was still going to be _ very _ weak for days to come. Tikki gasped as she had to force half of her energy into him, leaving her tired, but nowhere near as exhausted as him.

"Thanks, Tikki." He said, "I'd be a goner without you." Tikki smiled a bit,

"You're my brother, so of course I'll help you. But Plagg, don't you dare push yourself like that again. Anything more than what you did will push you so far, I can't save you. You don't _ touch _your magic until you are decently rested." Plagg nodded a little bit,

"Yeah. I should probably return to my body now." Tikki nodded, and Plagg vanished, but that bond remained intact. She returned to her own body and made sure the doctors had gotten him stable, before returning to Marinette.

"Marinette?" She gasped when she saw Marinette nowhere to be found. Then she heard the shower and relaxed, going down to the bathroom and was glad to see Marinette in there, "Oh, there you are." She saw Marinette was letting the hot shower water spray on her back. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and she was crying. "Marinette?"

Marinette looked up, her lip quivering, "Is he going to hate me?" Tikki softened, knowing who she was referring to.

"Of course not, Marinette. He might be a little mad at first just about the situation, but he could never _ hate _ you. If anything, he'll be thrilled. You know he cherishes you as both Marinette and Ladybug." Marinette nodded to herself, clearly not convinced.

"How's Plagg? I assume you rushed off because he needed help."

"He's stable, but it was a closer call than I _ ever _ wanted to see. If he doesn't touch his magic unless staying in the form of Cole, he should recover in a week or so. But this serves as a constant reminder that a stronger Akuma or a sentimonster would be enough to drive him into shutdown."

"I don't understand, Tikki. Why is it so easy for him to go under? You created life, and you two should be equals."

"Yes, but remember, Marinette, that we have been in the Miraculouses for five thousand years. We're not used to being independent and having to put effort into just maintaining a form. This puts Plagg at an even worse disadvantage. If he were taking baby steps, it wouldn't be that big a deal, but he's also filling in for Adrien, which drains him even more. Add in resisting Nooroo's power, and you have yourself one exhausted kwami. Shutdown would be his body telling him forcefully that he is unable to wake up under he has recovered; which could take weeks, and he literally cannot wake up, and won't react to anything. To the rest of the world, he would be dead. So you understand why I can't let him slip away. Not only would I lose my brother, but Adrien would lose a dear friend, and who knows what would happen if destruction fell into a state close to death."

Marinette nodded, "I get it. Oh...Adrien doesn't know about the shutdown possibility, does he?" Tikki's eyes widened, looking to the clock, which read that it was midnight. 

"Oh no. Adrien probably doesn't!"

OoOoO

Adrien was waiting patiently for his father or Plagg to get back from wherever they had gone. Hours had passed, it was midnight, and he was getting apprehensive.

When his father finally came in...you know that face the flight attendant gives you when they know something is wrong, but can't tell you? That was the face his father had on right now.

"Where's Cole?" Adrien asked worriedly. Gabriel shut the door behind him,

"Adrien. I need you to remain calm. Promise me you'll remain calm." Adrien was shaking,

"What happened?" His father sat down beside him, placing a hand on Adrien's heart, as though to prevent something from happening.

"C...Cole...the doctor found him collapsed and in critical condition. They wanted to run a test for his fatigue to see if there was more, he asked to be alone, and then they found him like that. Nobody knows how long he was like that. He's stable right now, but he was frail, and they don't know when he's going to wake up. He's not in a coma or anything, just extremely exhausted. He's going to be monitored for a few days."

Adrien stared blankly, still processing what was being said. No...nothing could be wrong with Plagg...he was Plagg...there was no way anything was wrong. 

"Are you trying to be funny?" He rasped, "Because this is cruel!" But he saw that his father was entirely genuine, "It's a joke. It has to be a joke..." he repeated this, "It's a joke, there's nothing wrong with him, there can't be!" he felt himself being held close by his father, and he started punching Gabriel's chest, "Tell me it's a joke! I'll forgive you if you tell me it's a joke!" He started gasping, his eyes stinging as salty tears fell from his eyes.

Gabriel sighed, his own voice thick with tears, "I wish with all my heart that I could tell you it was. But he's going to be okay, that I can promise you."

"H-How can you promise that? You said Mom's dizzy spells were no big deal, and now she's _ gone _!" Gabriel grabbed Adrien's chin, ensuring their eyes met,

"Cole is not your mother. He is strong, and he'll be just fine. And if the doctors here can't help, I will do everything in my power. I swear. But would Cole want you up all night worrying? Get some sleep." Adrien shuddered, and Gabriel called for a nurse to make sure there was no heart attack, and once Adrien was in the clear, he sat down on the hospital bed, and they both fell into a restless sleep, only finding comfort in each other.

OoOoO

Adrien was discharged from the hospital in the morning, and he told Nino everything about what had gone down. He was furious that Nino had known something was going on but felt better when his best friend assured it was nothing serious; he had just overworked himself. Well, he trusted Nino, and if he hadn't seen it as too big a deal, it hopefully wasn't.

(Nino didn't know just how dangerous the situation was since Plagg hadn't told him.)

Adrien walked into Plagg's hospital room and saw his eyes were open, but he still looked spent.

"Feeling better?" Plagg nodded, and Adrien sat down, "Why didn't you tell me something was going on?"

"I didn't want to worry you," Plagg said, sitting up, "It's just that keeping my form and battling evil drains me. Add in shifting, and my body told me I needed to rest. I'll be more careful, but you understand that Ladybug needed help. But we both need to be more careful since poor Gabriel was the Akuma victim and a strong one at that. He got Ladybug and Rena Rouge down for the count." Nino nodded grimly, but still tried to lighten the mood,

"Though I will say that he probably had more say in his outfit since it was wicked. I looked like something that belonged in Happy Meals."

Adrien sighed, "I didn't realize father was akumatized again. I should probably get him flowers or something for putting up with us and all our health issues."

"He does it because he loves you, Adrien." Nino defended, "I've been spending time with him, even when you were in a coma. Once you and 'Cole' have all your issues handled, he's going to handle the school's stupidity and the Lila issue. But he would appreciate the gesture, I'm sure." Plagg moaned,

"And can you get me camembert? I need food to recharge, but the stupid hospital only gives me this..." he gestured to a weird sandwich and some jello, "which is simply unacceptable for a god." Nino, God bless him, pulled out a bag full of cheese bread,

"Marinette gave this to me. She knows Cole likes these." Plagg brightened, digging into the food and devouring it in seconds. Adrien grinned as he watched Plagg gain much of his energy back, looking healthy again.

Plagg smiled, "Don't worry about me, Adrien."

"Maybe not, but I'm not going anywhere until you're discharged too." 

Nino wrapped an arm around Adrien's shoulder, "Well, Adrien, as your protector, that means I too must be here with all my music and video games. I'm shocked they didn't check my bag." Adrien turned to the one person he hadn't ever lost, the one who stayed by his side through thick and thin. He felt a bit like his old self with Nino, especially now that he knew the Chat Noir secret. 

"You're probably missing a ton of schoolwork." Nino then pulled out his laptop, face-timing Alya, and seeing and hearing everything in the classroom,

"Am I? And this way you can see school too." They listened to a knock, and Gabriel came in, pausing at what he saw, before chuckling a little,

"Clever, Lahiffe." Nino shrugged as Adrien got up to get some flowers,

"Hey, this way Adrien can see his friends and learn, but I can mute it if people start asking questions he's not yet ready to answer." Adrien came back with some flowers from the gift shop, one bouquet in a vase for Plagg, and handed one to his father,

"Tulips, I know you like them. I guess it's a thank you for putting up with all of this, even if it got you akumatized. I know it's going to take the time, but I'm willing to try fixing my damage if you're willing to try fixing yours." 

In no way was Adrien okay, he knew going back to school in person and eventually being Chat Noir himself would open a whole different can of worms. There was still a constant weight on his chest. 

But Plagg was back, Nino knew his secret and accepted it, and his father was finally acting like a parent again—even if he still had lingering doubts about that part lasting. So while he was still damaged, maybe he was no longer too far gone. With their support, he could try, even if he knew there would be times he wanted to give up.

Gabriel accepted the flowers, sitting on the bed and holding both Adrien and 'Cole'.

"We'll all get through this together."

"Together," Plagg repeated, and Adrien managed to genuinely smile. Even the promise they would try was enough to spark hope in him.

Nino was elated to see Adrien's life was finally coming back together. Piece by piece, they would mend his broken heart. 

They just had to take baby steps. And a promise to try was a damn good start.


	9. Chapter 9

Within the next week, it was Adrien's first day back at school in person. Of course, this was only going to be until lunch, because baby steps were important, but it was still the first time he couldn't avoid the questions. 

By his side was Plagg, who had been officially diagnosed with narcolepsy, but Adrien wasn't worried about him. He had been but watching Plagg get healthier instantly upon eating assured him that if there were food around, it would be okay.

Once he got to class, he put his hood on and sat down, ready for the onslaught of questions. Nino kept him close, and Adrien noted Lila was terrified in the presence of Plagg. 

Alya came close, "Hey, Adrien. You doing okay?" God, he hated that question, had been dreading it thoroughly. He had been sleeping a bit better, so the smudges under his eyes were fading, but still present.

"I'm decent enough to be here, aren't I?" He met Alya's eyes, "And I'm talking." He managed to get out a smile, but only by staring in Plagg's direction, who gave him a supportive thumbs up.

"Don't push yourself too much, Adrien." Rose said supportively, "Baby steps." Adrien's smile went away. So they didn't want him to try smiling yet. Good to know. And he had therapy today, which was going to be some disaster.

Nino sighed, "Guys, he's not that bad, never has been. He is capable of smiling and meaning it." It was then that everything grew awkward, nobody knowing what to do to reach him.

"I'm glad you're back, Adrien." He turned and saw Marinette, who also looked exhausted like she had not slept well the last week or so, "I've been worried about you." He felt a pang of guilt. He didn't want her to fret; she was still a dear friend.

He began to think. Would Ladybug be worried about him? As Chat Noir, would she care if she learned he had been dying inside? Did she miss him at all? He sighed, knowing she had probably relished the feeling of being rid of him. She'd probably be disappointed he hadn't died. If she learned, he was Adrien...he didn't want her feelings to change if she learned his identity. If she hated him as Chat, she should hate him as Adrien. 

_ "We're okay without him, now that we have your power. You and I are gonna make an awesome team." _ She'd said this to Aspik. Did she say this to all the temporary heroes? That he was just a useless sidekick.

His mood darkened again, and he felt Nino squeeze his hand reassuringly, to get his mind away from his dark thoughts. 

"Thanks for caring, Marinette," Adrien said quietly. But there was still doubt there. He turned to Nino, "Hey...Nino..." He got out his phone and texted his friend,

AA: Does Marinette see me as a friend? She told me back at the wax museum that she didn't see me as a friend. Does she even tolerate me? Is she only worried because she likes fashion? 

NL: Bro, stop. Whatever you're thinking right now about Marinette, stop thinking it. She ADORES you. It was a mess at the wax museum, but she cares about you over anybody else. She was devastated when you fell comatose.

AA: When why did she say I wasn't a good friend? Have I done something wrong?

NL: Where is this coming from? That was two months ago.

AA: Just...it's nothing.

He felt a comforting arm around his shoulder, which he leaned into. He wished Plagg was assigned to a closer seat, but Nino's embrace was nice and warm.

Everybody else seemed to get worried, and Lila went to try approaching him with the hope Adrien didn't know about the restraining order. Still, one growl from Plagg had her backing away.

This was going to be a long day.

OoOoO

Once Adrien had left during lunch, Nino went to find Marinette. He hadn't realized she'd said something, and didn't imagine something like that. Another piece to assist in Adrien's heartbreak, and he was sure that Marinette's likely awkward fumblings had been at the worst possible time for Adrien's mental state.

"Hey, Marinette, can I talk to you?" Marinette turned,

"Yeah. What is it?" The two of them started walking towards the bakery, 

"Well...do you remember the wax museum?" She nodded, and he continued, "Adrien told me you said you didn't see him as a friend. It's because I highly doubt you meant it that I'm even telling you, I just need to know what happened."

Marinette blanched, "Oh no! I forgot about that! I was just flustered about being left alone with him, and I said things I didn't mean, and oh no, he's gonna hate me!"

"No, nothing like that. But you need to set this right. Adrien's currently thinking you only care because you like fashion." Marinette threw a hand over her mouth, pulling out her phone,

"I need to talk to him!"

"He's at therapy right now. Just text him right now." So Marinette sent the text, waiting nervously for a response.

OoOoO

Adrien, surprisingly, actually liked his therapist. She was a middle-aged woman named Whitney, and she was nothing like expected. Instead of asking him about his issues and trying to talk him through it, she only asked some questions and asked to hear his perspective. This was just to get a feel for what she was dealing with, but she was friendly, and not pushing him to be okay or distract him from the pain. She laid all the cards out and asked him to say anything he was comfortable answering.

"What are your relationships with your friends? Would you say they are real friends?"

"Well, yes. Cole and Nino have been by my side from the beginning. Even if Chloe isn't the best to everyone else, she's always been kind to me. Kagami is blunt, but I enjoy her company... Marinette, I'm not too sure. She's one of my closest friends, but I feel like our friendship is one-sided most of the time. I think...unsure most of the time, and hurt others. I want her to feel good when I'm around, but no matter what I do, she panics, or I mess up, or she tells me I'm not a good friend."

Whitney wrote something down on her clipboard, "Have you tried to work through your problems with her?" Adrien nodded, and Whitney sighed, "Toxic friendships can be confusing and hard to deal with because you clearly value the relationship despite the hurt it causes."

"Toxic friendship? No, no. Marinette and I are friends!" Whitney smiled,

"I'm just stating what I understand from what you're telling me. It sounds like your friendship is toxic. But of course, only you can decide what's best for you, and it's your call. It might be helpful to make a list of all the pros and cons of your friendship, then compare to see if the bad outweighs the good."

Adrien pondered this. He cherished Marinette, he really did. But she was clearly uncomfortable around him. And this was also starting to describe his relationship with Ladybug: toxic.

"How would I handle the friendship if it was toxic. I'm trying to get my life back together as quickly as possible right now."

Whitney sighed, "It doesn't work like that, Adrien. You've been suffering a lot, and it won't heal all in one night. It will take months or even years. But to answer your question: Take some space. If you're not ready to leave the friendship, but you're hurting a lot, consider taking a break for a while. Keeping yourself busy or spending time with other friends can help to create boundaries and give you space from the toxic friendship. Then try again in a couple months."

Adrien didn't want to try losing any of his friends, but maybe this was good. Marinette said she was worried, and Nino said she cared, but she rarely showed any signs of that. Perhaps a break would be good. But he knew it was going to hurt.

But no, Whitney knew what she was talking about. And maybe a break would make their friendship stronger than ever! At least he hoped so.

They continued to talk for a while, about various things, until it was time to go. Adrien saw a text from Marinette.

MDC: Hey, Adrien, can we talk?

AA: About...?

MDC: It would be better if we talked in person.

Adrien sighed, looking at his phone. He didn't want to break things off with Marinette, even if it would save his own mind. He didn't know what to do! So he stuffed his phone in his pocket and headed to the car. He needed to talk to Plagg about this.

"Well," Plagg said once they were alone, "If your therapist says to break it off with her for a bit, maybe you should." There was an out of character bitterness in Plagg's tone, but Adrien brushed that off as his own imagination and adjusting to Plagg's deeper human voice.

"But I don't want to hurt her. She's our everyday Ladybug,"

"Yeah, and Ladybug is kind of a bitch to you. Ergo, maybe this is a good idea. And maybe a break will get her priorities in order." He grabbed Adrien's phone, "If you don't tell her, I will."

"Plagg, no." Adrien begged, "I really don't want to hurt her."

"Don't worry." He pulled out his own phone, "She'll understand."

...

Marinette waited impatiently for Adrien's response when she got a text from Plagg,

CW/P: Hey, Marinette. So it's been decided that for Adrien's mental health that he take a break from your currently toxic friendship with him. He really doesn't want to hurt you, so I'm the bad guy right now. It's only for like a week, but make sure to be a better friend to him both as yourself and as Ladybug. DO NOT blame Adrien for this or go on a hormonal rant that he hates you. We're just trying to take a break to fix things. And tell Tikki I'm sorry about this, but I need to protect my friend.

She was stunned. She knew her panicky talk could eventually cause an issue, but...no...was even a therapist saying she was a bad friend? She loved him but was just too awkward to see it.

But did she love him? She'd failed to notice he was Chat Noir and treated his real self like dirt. Maybe a break was a good idea...

But what if Adrien decided he was better without her, and she lost him as a partner and friend and love of her life! She had been planning to tell him she was Ladybug, but he would undoubtedly hate her!

She cried into her pillow as Tikki read the message, sadly able to understand where Plagg was coming from. But it was coming too late, as Marinette had realized the error of her ways, so now it was just salt on the wound.

Tikki gasped as she saw an Akuma, "Marinette!" Marinette saw the blackened butterfly as well, instantly removing her earrings and telling Tikki to flee at top speed.

When she had been almost akumatized as Princess Justice and Heartbreak, she had heard a distinctly deep male voice. However, this time the male voice sounded weird, almost like using a voice editor or Hawk Moth had a cold.

_ "Playmate, I am Hawk Moth. I'm giving you the power to show you are the best friend ever, but in return, you must bring my Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous." _

Released in knowing there was no cat Miraculous to take, she gave in, praying Adrien wouldn't get hurt in the process.

...

Adrien had his head in his hands, distraught by what he'd decided to do. He didn't want to do this, but he had done research on toxic friendships and found his with Marinette did fall in that category. He had to keep telling himself this would make their bond stronger in the long run.

"Adrien!" he whirled around and saw Tikki flying at him, "Ladybug's sick and there's an Akuma! You have to transform into Mister Bug!" 

"An Akuma?!" Adrien's blood ran cold hearing that, already knowing it was Marinette. He put the earrings in but saw Akumatized-Marinette at his window before he could transform. He was overwhelmed with guilt for causing the second akumatization of his loved ones in the last two weeks. What was next? Nino getting akumatized again?!

Playmate had a pink complexion, magenta eyes, and magenta hair styled into a spikier version of her usual pigtails. Her clothing consisted of a dark magenta top, tight hot pink sleeves, a short magenta skirt, hot pink wrist-length gloves, white stockings and a pair of magenta knee-high boots. On her shirt was a gem-like heart, and a bracelet matching the one he had made for was on her wrist.

"Hello, Adrien!" She said brightly, "I am Playmate! And we are going to be best friends forever!"

Adrien visibly gulped, seeing as his door was forced shut by bright pink energy._ Oh no... _

...

Gabriel was working peacefully while Adrien did his homework, finally having peace of mind. Nathalie was off akumatizing someone, he was going to spend the evening with Adrien, Cole was doing better. All things considered, everything was great other than Emilie's condition, but hopefully, that would change.

HIs bubble was burst when Cole came running in, screaming that an Akuma was holding Adrien hostage in his room. That made him panic, and he rushed to Adrien's door, pounding on it,

"Adrien! Adrien!" He clenched his fist. This wouldn't have happened if he was Hawk Moth right now. But if Nathalie was letting this happen, then Adrien was in no danger. He could take some solace in that, but what were they going to do?

Cole was even more frantic, but then brightened, "I have an idea! Come on!" He ran out of the mansion, and Gabriel followed, trying to make sure Cole didn't collapse on him. He lost track of his nephew for a second, and Cole peeked out from behind an alleyway, Rena Rouge beside him.

"Rena's going to go get the guardian of the Miraculous. Then we can come up with a plan. Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't here right now, so I guess it's just the three of us to save the day. I called Nino, so the four of us, I guess."

Gabriel nodded, debating heading back into the mansion to stop Nathalie. But what would happen if his identity was revealed, and Adrien learned his father was a supervillain? He wasn't ready yet, for the truth, so the knowledge would break Adrien. He'd try to call Nathalie. But for now, he would work with the heroes to save Adrien.


	10. Chapter 10

Adrien slowly backed away from Playmate, backing himself into a wall. Guilt crashed into him, hard, at the knowledge his decision had gotten her akumatized.

_ "You aren't responsible for the happiness of anybody but yourself." _Whitney had said. But he still felt like he was. It was his job to make people smile, even if Ladybug hated it, he just didn't want to see her upset.

Playmate giggled, "Liking my new look?" He was still too stunned to move, yelping as she plopped him on the couch, "Come on, best friend! Let's play!"

"Um...okay? Can I take my meds first?"

"NO!" Her eyes went crazy, but once she saw the genuine terror in Adrien's eyes, she softened, "I can't have you running off on me."

"I'd rather not have a heart attack right now." He really needed to get Tikki out of here, "Just give me a minute. I'll be back." Playmate sighed, relented, and Adrien briskly walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Tikki emerged, "Time to transform?"

"No. This is my fault. And it would be worse for Marinette to find out my identity. Besides, Ladybug can vouch that I sucked as Mister Bug." He handed the earrings back to her, "Go find somebody else."

Tikki sighed, flying off, and Adrien took his medication, coming back out.

"See? I'm back." Playmate brightened instantly, grabbing him and tossing the controller back to him.

"Come on, Adrien! We're gonna play, and you're gonna tell me everything, just like a best friend would!" Adrien's blood ran cold at how menacing she sounded while saying that, even if she also seemed genuine.

He just hoped Tikki would find somebody to replace Ladybug because he didn't want Plagg draining himself to save him.

...

"So how did you get here so quickly?" Gabriel asked Rena Rouge when she came back with a bag. Nino was here now, and Cole had run off the lord knows where. He was getting _ really _ tired of his nephew disappearing, and then finding him dying somewhere.

Rena opened the bag, "I got a call...from the girl who runs the Ladyblog, saying she'd seen an Akuma headed for the mansion."

"Help!" They all whirled around and saw the Ladybug kwami holding some earrings, launching towards them, "Ladybug is sick, and there's an Akuma!"

Oh, what an ironic twist of fate this was. The second he was prioritizing his son over the Miraculouses, the Ladybug one is _ right in front of him _. It would be so easy to grab them and be one huge step closer to bringing back Emilie.

"Okay...so do any of us know Playmate's powers?" She subtly passed the Turtle Miraculous to Nino, taking it out of the bag Fu gave her. 

"Forcefields from what I can tell." Gabriel mused, "So are you going to be Ladybug or...screw it." He grabbed the Ladybug Miraculous and put them in, thankful they were clamp-on earrings.

"You're seriously going to be a superhero?" Carapace asked, appearing beside Chat Noir. Oh, it would be so easy to take the Miraculous and make his wish come true. So...damn...easy!

_ Get it together, Agreste, _ he chastised himself, _ there are always more chances, and Adrien is more significant right now. Get yourself alone and call Nathalie. _

"Adrien is my son, so it's only natural I do everything in my power to keep him safe." He knew he had to pretend he had no idea what he was doing, so he turned to the Ladybug kwami, "What are you exactly?"

"I'm a kwami, and my name is Tikki. I'm what activates the Miraculous to give our heroes power. Remember that when this task is done, you must return the earrings to me. To transform, you say Tikki, spots on!"

"Tikki, spots on!" This transformation was much different from his transformation as Hawk Moth, much more flamboyant and such.

When he looked down at himself, he saw he was wearing a ladybug patterned suit, thankfully not super skintight, just hugging him a bit. He also black boots and gloves, and various black details around the neck. He also had a yoyo around his waist.

"Wow." Carapace nodded a bit to himself, "You actually look good in the ladybug print and messy hair, didn't expect that." Coccineil looked at himself and back at the heroes, realizing his assumption about them just being kids was scary on the right track. He'd let himself hope at least a little that the transformation made them look younger, and they were actually adults. Still, _ he _ seemed to be the same age, meaning they actually were children. What had the guardian been smoking?

He dully realized maybe he had grown a little bit if he was mad at the guardian for giving hormonal teenagers powers in hopes of stopping a villain.

"So, I assume you know how this works since we've all seen Ladybug in action?" But Coccineil was already gone, running to perch on the roof of the mansion, and struggled for a moment to open the yoyo, eventually managing to call Mariposa,

"Hey, it's me, Gabriel."

"Gabriel?!" She was clearly shocked as she watched from her end of the screen, "You got the Ladybug! It's working!"

"Yes and no. Adrien is down there with the Akuma, and you know how explosive they can get. Thank you for the effort, but please don't go after people who have Adrien directly involved. I need to deal with this one, just to avoid suspicion. But for future reference..."

"Of course, sir. If she becomes a threat, I will renounce the Akuma immediately. Her name is Playmate, and her power is manipulating light energy into things, namely toys and forcefields, also stretchy limbs."

"Alright." He hung up and swung down into Adrien's room. Did he have any idea what he was doing? No. He had never planned to use this Miraculous for longer than a few minutes. But his goal was to save Adrien, and by god, that was what he was going to do.

He saw Playmate talking to Adrien, and he clearly looked uncomfortable and even guilty. Coccineil debated calling Nathalie again and demanding the Akuma be renounced. 

He almost fell when he saw Chat Noir next to him,

"Okay, it looks like it's you, me, Rena, and Carapace today. Any idea what her powers are or where the Akuma is hiding?"

"Yeah." he gestured to where Playmate was using light energy to juggle some balls, seemingly in hopes of making Adrien laugh, but that was not working out too well. "It seems she can manipulate light energy. The Akuma is probably in that bracelet." It still felt weird that he was working with Chat Noir, as a superhero, and not reaching for that ring. He wanted to so badly, he could win right here and right now.

"You okay?" Carapace asked, noticing the odd look he was giving Chat Noir's ring. Coccineil shook himself,

"I'm fine. Just wondering how that ring hasn't fallen off yet." Chat shrugged,

"Magic, I guess? Never really thought about it. Anyway, let's go in. Bug, use the yoyo to grab Adrien and pull him away. The three of us can handle Playmate. Ready?" 

"Yeah. I'm ready." Coccineil burst into the room, grabbing Adrien with the yoyo and pulling him out the window, which earned a shriek from Playmate,

"Bug? Give me back my friend!" She used her stretchy arms to reach for Adrien, but Coccineil held Adrien close, making sure he was safe,

"Sorry, not sorry. Bye." He held Adrien in his arms and sprinted to the school, "Will you be safe here, Adrien? Or do I need to take you somewhere better?" Adrien's eyes widened comically,

"Father? You're..."

"A superhero filling in for Ladybug? Yes. Did you really think I would let some villain hold you hostage?" Adrien held his father's arm,

"Please, make sure Marinette is okay. This is all my fault, I thought maybe taking a break would be better for us...but she told me...she said she'd..." he bit his lip, and Coccineil hugged him,

"Do you want me to give you the Miraculous?"

"No. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to risk hurting Marinette. Just...good luck. And thank you for saving me." Coccineil nodded, then spotted Chloe, "Queen Bee! I need you to take care of Adrien, there's a supervillain after him." Chloe gaped at him, then calmed herself,

"I may need my Miraculous for that." Coccineil huffed,

"Look, I don't know where the Miraculouses are. If I did know, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Just please try. Playmate's probably going to look for him at the hospital." Chloe nodded to him, then grabbing Adrien's wrist, and the two ran to the hotel.

Now sure his son wasn't in danger, Coccineil ran back to the fight, rather surprised to see Playmate kicking the hell out of the trio of young heroes. Seriously? Why was Nathalie better at this than him? If only Adrien hadn't gotten involved, then he'd be loving this.

Playmate noticed him and sprung at him with phenomenal agility, and he barely dodged.

"WHERE'S MY FRIEND!?" She roared, creating a yoyo from her light energy, "We are supposed to be together forever, and you just had to ruin it!"

"Marinette, snap out of it!" Coccineil snapped, giving up on the yoyo and grabbing Rena's fallen flute, using it as a weapon against her, rolling out of the way. He had to grab the bracelet.

Swinging back into Adrien's room, he gasped when he saw Chat Noir was glitching out, going in and out of existence. It reminded him of the Peacock Miraculous and how it glitched. Was the Cat Miraculous damaged too? 

Playmate noticed this too, grabbing Chat Noir and turned her yoyo into a knife, her eyes wild and crazed, "Give me your Miraculous and Adrien!" 

Coccineil found himself having a moment of deja vu. What felt like an eternity ago, with Ladybug holding Mayura, and him holding Chat. But he had no hostage here. So all he could do was run to more open space because he saw Chat Noir's power starting to activate. The last thing he needed was for Adrien's floor to crash into Emilie and crush her.

Playmate still had Chat Noir, who was weakened and coming in and out of existence. It was actually starting to scare him. But this also put Playmate at a disadvantage since she could only hold him half the time.

"Chat! Can you control that glitching?" Chat Noir looked at him through half-lidded eyes, clearly on the brink of passing out. When had his Miraculous become damaged?

Images of Emilie and Nathalie and Cole appeared in his head, and he lost it, attacking Playmate with all he had. He thanked himself for training with Emilie on combat, he was able to dodge her attacks and had her pinned in a matter of minutes. No need to use Lucky Charms when you can use PTSD as a weapon.

He ripped the bracelet off her, and she forced the earrings off him, which left the Akuma flying away, and neither of them transformed to catch it.

Chat Noir jumped up and destroyed the Akuma in his hand, and it crumbled into dust. Marinette's eyes widened as he collapsed to the ground, "Chat!" She held him in her arms, and Gabriel rushed over as well, seeing the Cat Miraculous glitching out just like the rest of him.

The Ladybug kwami pressed her forehead to Chat Noir's and his suffering eased, and he got up,

"Thanks..." he panted, "Are both of you okay?" Gabriel and Marinette looked to each other, both nodding. Gabriel went to leave and was put out when Marinette pointed out,

"Mr. Agreste, the earrings." He'd really hoped neither would notice, and he could just swipe the ring next Akuma. Maybe he could try...

"You said Ladybug is sick, I assumed you might need my help again for a little bit." Chat Noir frowned, but then nodded,

"I suppose you're right." YES! "Ladybug is sick after all, and it has to be serious if she's down for the count. So you'll probably have to be Ladybug for the week. So you should head out before anybody else knows your identity."

Gabriel nodded, trying to hide his pure joy, calling Nathalie to come to pick him up. She came quickly, and Gabriel saw Chat Noir carry Marinette home.

Once in the car, he renounced the Ladybug Miraculous so the kwami couldn't hear them. "I got it, Nathalie!" he showed her the earrings excitedly, "Turns out me being a hero worked!"

Nathalie turned, overjoyed, "Adrien is safe, we're one huge step closer to your dream, today has been a good day!" Gabriel was practically shaking with glee, 

"Call Adrien and Cole, we're gonna go out to dinner tonight to celebrate, even if they don't know what we're celebrating. Oh, but no more akumas that go remotely near Adrien. He wasn't hurt by this one, at least."

"Naturally, sir. I would never risk Adrien getting hurt." She called Cole, "Cole?" She frowned, "Okay...meet us at the mansion, okay? We're gonna go out to dinner once we pick up Adrien from Chloe's." She hung up, "Apparently, he had another attack, and Marinette's parents have been taking care of him."

Gabriel sighed, "We should probably pick him up. I don't want to risk him walking home and passing out again." So they took a detour, and Gabriel pocketed the Ladybug Miraculous as Cole got in the car, wrapped in a blanket.

"Are you okay, Cole?"

"Yeah. Just tired as usual. Thankfully we're gonna go eat, and food always helps." Gabriel smiled, extremely cheerful right now at his victory. Cole and Emilie would get along rather well.

They went to pick up Adrien but decided they should just eat at the hotel restaurant. None of them were particularly dressed for the occasion, but did any of them care? No.

While they waited for their food to arrive, Cole destroyed the bread rolls, devouring them as though he hadn't eaten in weeks. Adrien was picking at his one bread roll, and it had Gabriel worried.

"What's wrong, Adrien?" Adrien looked up,

"Oh. I'm just guilty about Marinette getting akumatized because of me. First, you get akumatized, and then her...is Cole next?" Cole gestured to the cheese platter,

"If I have this beautiful thing, I'm good. No akumas will get me." He looked to Adrien, who appeared rather distraught, "Did Playmate hurt you?"

"No..." the food arrived, and they could all see Adrien was trying to keep up a happy facade, and some jokes from Cole made him genuinely laugh. Gabriel sighed, wishing he could tell his son that his mother would hopefully be home in the next few days. He only managed to remain happy imagining the look on Adrien's face when Emilie came back. He'd be so happy.

They all went home, and Gabriel went to tuck Adrien in bed, knowing full well his son would just come into his room.

"Adrien? You can talk to me."

"I know." Adrien said quietly, "But I'm still trying to process this myself. When I understand it, I'll tell you."

"So you'll probably be coming in within the hour? Or do you need some time to think?"

"Little time to think," Adrien muttered, and Gabriel sighed, kissing his forehead,

"Goodnight, son." Gabriel left with a sigh, deciding to check on Cole, who was sleeping peacefully. He had to check to make sure his nephew wasn't dying or anything, checking his pulse and such. Once he was sure Cole was stable, he went into his office to stash the Ladybug Miraculous, turning to Nathalie.

"Are you up to another Akuma?"

"Tomorrow morning," She said, clearly tired, "would be ideal, but I can manage."

"No. Don't push yourself. Get some rest tonight. We're so close, and we have a couple days to win. So you should sleep."

"As long as you do too, sir." Gabriel nodded, looking at the renounced earrings and putting them in the box he would otherwise keep the Butterfly in. So close...

"I'm going to go check on Emilie, then I'll be up." He smiled at her, turning off her computer, "Don't bother to get up early tomorrow." Nathalie kissed his cheek and left, and Gabriel had to fight the blush that bloomed on his cheeks.

Once he was alone, he went to check on Emilie, then headed back to his room, waiting for Adrien to come in. If he didn't come in after two hours, he'd go check on his son.

...

Adrien found himself lost in contemplation. Playmate had said something to him that rang through his ears.

_ "I love you, Adrien! There! I've loved you with all my heart since you gave me that umbrella! We'll be the best of friends, then we can get married and have a beautiful house and three kids and a dog, a cat or a hamster, and we'll name it—" _

Marinette had a crush on him? But then...she'd been lying when she said she had been in love with Chat Noir, his true self. But why did she lie? Was she trying to hurt him? 

He sighed. He guessed maybe a crush would explain Marinette's weird behavior, and it also meant all that stuff she had said to his "statue" was genuine. Though he still wasn't over her pulling out his hair, because that was just plain creepy. But why had she lied about being in love with him when he had asked? He didn't understand.

He didn't know what to think. He wanted to try letting Marinette off easy, because...she kinda creeped him out just a little bit. He felt horrible for even thinking about it. But...maybe she wouldn't remember saying that.

He thought about his love of Ladybug, and how absence had used to made the heart grow fonder, but he'd now gone through detox and...he didn't miss being cut down continuously. He still loved Ladybug, but he was also starting to seriously think about Kagami's advice about changing targets.

He pressed his face into the pillow. This was going so fast; he couldn't give up on Ladybug! But couldn't he? She clearly didn't love him, probably didn't even like him. It was best he just move on. 

He added moving on from a crush to his list of self-help books to get.

Then he brightened. This was an excellent chance to ask his father for advice, having a normal father-son conversation.

Determined, he got out of bed and knocked softly on his father's door, and Gabriel opened the door.

"Ah, Adrien, come on in." He let his son in, "Did you figure out that thing you were worried about?"

"No. But I thought this might be a good time to get some dad advice." Gabriel brightened,

"You want my advice?" They sat down as Gabriel poured some tea, handing it to Adrien, "Ask away."

"Okay. So I have a friend, Marinette. I recently discovered she has a crush on me, but I suspect there might be some sort of stalker obsession from it. She's my friend, but I want to take a break. How do I nicely tell her I'm not interested like that? I don't want to lead her on by not saying no." Gabriel was clearly honored to be having a sincere parental conversation with his child, and proceeded to explain his wisdom,

"Being honest about how you feel is always a good thing—as long as you say it kindly, without being mean on purpose. It shows the kind of person you are, and it's part of being your best self. Don't forget that it's a compliment when someone likes you. Maybe she thinks you're cute, funny, kind, smart—just irresistible in whatever way. I know for you, it might be hard since people also tend to like you for your status. But give her the benefit of the doubt here. It feels good to know that someone likes you. But it doesn't feel so good when you love someone, then find out the other person doesn't feel the same way. So she's probably going to be disappointed. Still, maybe you can think of a friendly compliment to give her when you tell her you just want to be friends."

"Like...?"

"Here's an example: You're a nice—or cool, pretty, smart—girl, but I like you just as a friend, not a girlfriend. I hope you're okay with that."

"That sounds good. Thanks. But...I don't want to see her get upset. I'd hate for her to get akumatized."

His father hugged him, "Son, you are not responsible for the happiness of anybody but yourself. Always remember that. And if she really does love you, she will respect your wishes. If she doesn't back off...we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. But you really have to tell her in person, it's even worse to reject someone over text." he took a sip of the tea, "Are you interested in anyone?"

Adrien flushed, "Promise you won't laugh." He got a nod of promise, "I've had a crush on Ladybug for a while. She's rejected me, but I had a little bit of hope. But I feel like it's time to move on from a celebrity crush."

"I'm proud of you for realizing it's time to move on. Losing a crush is hard, especially your first. But you will find someone who loves you for yourself, in time. And you can pun away with this person." Adrien turned sharply,

"You know about..."

"You really think you got puns from just your mother?" Adrien laughed, hugging him tight,

"I feel a lot better now. Thanks for the advice." Gabriel smiled warmly, turning off the lamplight, smiling as he saw Adrien was already asleep in his arm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we get to see Marinette's POV of the aftermath next chapter


	11. Chapter 11

When Plagg took her home, Marinette was shocked to have seen the state he was in, on the ground glitching. And Gabriel Agreste having taken up the job of Ladybug to protect his son. She was a little annoyed Plagg agreed to give Gabriel the earrings for the week. However, she understood that it was to protect her identity. 

She remembered everything, shockingly, and distinctly remembered how Gabriel had managed to be a better Ladybug than her. On his first go, he was able to take down a problematic Akuma, no doubt in himself, and won. And she knew after using the Cat Miraculous that the Ladybug was a harder suit to use, which just made Mr. Agreste's success even more startling.

But it also made her feel so much worse. Chat, _ Adrien _, had been struggling, and did she help him? Nope, just mocked him, saying she was funny and charming. Well, Chat Noir had been the confident one on their first go, and the one who brought her up whenever she felt down. They were supposed to be equals, and once upon a time, she had treated him as such. But ever since meeting Master Fu, and learning more than him, she had developed an even worse sense of superiority.

But because she remembered everything, she remembered confessing to Adrien. How easy it had been as Playmate, but she had seen the crushing guilt, heartbreak, and even fear in his eyes. He hadn't been warmed by it at all.

For about five minutes, she wondered why he could have been so devastated by the confession. She would understand if he was just unnerved by the Akuma, but there was something else like someone had ripped his heart out of his chest.

Then she remembered her lie, saying she had been in love with Chat Noir, Adrien's true self. And she'd said she loved him ever since the umbrella. So he probably realized the lie, and since he didn't know she was Ladybug, what would he think?!

Tikki wasn't here to comfort her at all. But at least she still had a shot with him as Ladybug, assuming he didn't realize how poorly she treated him and hate her forever!

It took her ten minutes total to remember Plagg was fading on the floor, both literally and figuratively. She quickly rushed downstairs and brought up food for him, sitting him up and making sure he had the pendant on to keep his form.

"Took ya long enough to remember I was here," he said, shifting into his Cole form and eating, wrapping himself in a blanket. "If Hawk Moth could stop akumatizing people for a bit, that would be great. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep this up."

"I'm glad you're okay." She muttered, "Go, make sure to check on Adrien." Speak of the devil, Plagg's phone started ringing,

"Hello? Oh, hey, Nathalie. I had another exhaustion attack, and Marinette's parents have been taking care of me." He smiled a little bit in Marinette's direction, "Best of luck, I gotta go eat tons of food." He got up with the blanket still wrapped around him, and Marinette watched as he left the bakery.

Once alone, she sighed at the fact she was actually alone. And she didn't see any responses from Adrien. She'd probably blown her chances with him.

She went downstairs, and both her parents hugged her,

"Marinette, we were so worried!" Sabine said, hugging her. Marinette then sobbed, 

"Mom, I blew my chances with Adrien." She wailed, "He's gonna hate me!" Tom hugged her,

"Marinette, everybody loves you! I will go talk to this boy myself if he hates you." He said this menacingly, and Marinette got flashbacks to Weredad when Chat got the crap beaten out of him. No, she wouldn't be the blame for him getting hurt.

"No. If Adrien hates me...I understand why. And I will do everything I can to fix it."

She said this, but when she came face to face with it the next day, she was not able to remain calm and accepting.

"Hey, Marinette, can we talk?" Adrien said quietly when they were alone in the locker room.

"Um...yeah. Why?" Adrien sighed,

"I don't know how much you remember from being akumatized...but you told me you'd had a crush on me for a long time. And..." he bit his lip, "I'm flattered, Marinette, and you're a really nice girl, our everyday Ladybug...but I'm not really looking for anybody. I like you as my friend, not as a girlfriend. I hope you're okay with that. I really don't want to lead you on by not saying anything. I'm sorry, Marinette."

Marinette fought back the tears threatening to spill over. She didn't want him to feel even more guilty about this, but on the other hand, she low-key wanted to guilt-trip him into taking it back.

"Is this about that girl you love?" She asked, expecting the answer would be yes. And with how desperate she was for him to love her, she'd reveal herself to him. Did she need help? Probably, but right now, she didn't want it.

Adrien hesitated, before sighing, "No. I actually moved on from her, or am trying to. I really don't want to dive more into this Marinette, I'm really sorry."

No...no...no...NO! He had to love Ladybug! 

"But Adrien, you _ love _ Ladybug!" She insisted, "You love _ me _!" She gasped as she realized what she had done. Years of asking for their secret identities to remain hidden, and she revealed her secret to making him love her. She'd been planning to tell him, but right now was probably the worst possible time.

Adrien's eyes were wide, and he looked around to make sure nobody else was around. Class had just started, they would both be late, but right now, they had more important things to handle.

"Wha...What?" 

Dejected, Marinette nodded, "Yes. Adrien, it's me. I am Ladybug. I can't prove it since your father currently has the Miraculous since I got akumatized...but Plagg can vouch! I made him promise not to tell you...because I would rather tell you myself."

"Wait...you know about..." she saw, even more, understanding dawn on him, "You know I was Chat Noir." He clenched his fists, shaking, "How long have you known? Or was the 'our identities must be secret' rule only for me not knowing yours?!"

"I've known since I saw Plagg lose control of his powers, and if he was here, there was only one blonde-haired, and green-eyed boy in school." She grabbed his arms, "Adrien, I didn't mean for your Miraculous to be taken. I didn't mean for this to happen. When he said he'd taken it, I thought a mental leave break would be good for you. If I had known then that you were Adrien..." she hesitated, "As you've said, Ladybug and Chat Noir, yin and yang, always meant to be together!" 

She froze as Adrien ripped himself out of her grip, tears spilling down his cheeks.

"W-Why... Why did it have to be you? Of all the people I saw as friends..." he was shaking, "Why did you have to be the one who tore me down daily?" He looked at her, "Why, Marinette, _ why _?"

Marinette was taken aback by just how much anger was in his voice, and all the pain dripping from his voice, "I'm really sorry, Adrien. But we can make it all right! We can work together to fix our relationship and be better partners than ever." 

Adrien shook his head, "No. _No_. I will only put up with this because Chat Noir is my freedom, where I can genuinely be myself. But...we're done. I tried to let you down nicely, but I have finally started to realize I am in charge of my own happiness. And my joy involves not having toxic people in my life." He wiped his tears, staring her down, "If you only love me for the model I pretend to be, you don't know me at all. We're done." He turned away from her, "But hey, this is what you wanted, isn't it? For Chat Noir to leave you alone?" He then walked away, and Marinette chased after him,

"Adrien—" She grabbed his arm to try stopping him, only to get shoved off.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He gasped when he saw where he'd thrown her to the ground, "I...I'm so sorry..." he then ran off.

"ADRIEN! NO! PLEASE COME BACK! _PLEASE_!" She screamed, burying her face in her hands. Tikki wasn't here to comfort her. And now Adrien really did hate her. She'd been so desperate to fix everything, she'd prayed that if she revealed herself fast enough, he would just kiss her and she could distract him from the lies she had told. 

But no, it was too late.

OoOoO

Nathalie was working happily, waiting for negative emotions. Gabriel was legit humming to himself, and it was a beautiful sound. He was so happy. Today would be the day. They would akumatize someone, and Emilie would be back by dinner.

She then gasped as she felt two of the most potent emotions she had ever felt. But one of them vanished abruptly, meaning it was Adrien. But the other was Marinette again...

"Gabriel, Marinette is feeling extreme negative emotions over heartbreak again. It's about Adrien, though. Is it worth it?" 

Gabriel looked up, "Um...I'll make sure Adrien's safe and then transform to handle it. We'll do it, but only if we're sure Adrien won't get involved."

He froze as the door to the office flew open, and Adrien ran in, sobbing, and started bawling as he hugged his father tightly.

"Dad—I—She—" he continued to take shaky breaths, gulping in air and bawling his eyes out. Gabriel gestured for Nathalie to not akumatize Marinette again, scooping his son in his arms. He saw Cole and Nino run in,

"We saw him run out of school, crying. What happened?" Adrien continued to sob, quickly turning into a panic attack, and Gabriel carried Adrien upstairs, wrapping him in a blanket, 

"Shh, son, it's okay. I've got you. What happened?" Adrien continued to cry, and Gabriel quietly sang an old song that always calmed the boy when he was little,

_ "Come stop your crying _

_ It will be alright _

_ Just take my hand _

_ And hold it tight _

_ I will protect you _

_ From all around you _

_ I will be here _

_ Don't you cry _

_ For one so small, _

_ You seem so strong _

_ My arms will hold you, _

_ Keep you safe and warm _

_ This bond between us _

_ Can't be broken _

_ I will be here _

_ Don't you cry _

_ 'Cause you'll be in my heart _

_ Yes, you'll be in my heart. _

_ From this day on _

_ Now and forevermore _

_ You'll be in my heart. _

_ No matter what they say _

_ You'll be here in my heart. _

_ Always." _

Adrien kept weeping until he fell asleep. Gabriel sighed, letting Adrien continue to cling even in slumber.

He looked to where Cole was curling up next to them, and Nino seemed somewhat suspicious. Gabriel looked to Nathalie, deciding enough was enough if that school made his son run home crying.

"Nathalie, schedule a meeting with Mr. Damocles. I'm going to be filing some strongly worded complaints."

Nathalie smirked, seeing that this would be ideal Akuma fuel, "Oh course, sir." But right now, Gabriel didn't care about Akumas, just making sure his son was okay. But if he got Emilie back in the process...he would be lying if he said that wasn't a win-win.


	12. Chapter 12

Once he was sure Adrien was fast asleep with Cole to talk to him, Gabriel went to have a meeting with Mr. Damocles.

The principal was clearly fearful upon seeing the famous designer, who never left his house. If Gabriel was leaving his home for this, being here in person instead of on a tablet, then this was obviously important.

"Hello, Mr. Agreste. Is there a concern?" Gabriel nodded, 

"Yes. Many. I was initially going to wait for a bit, wait until Adrien is recovered. But then I have my son run home sobbing. So I decided enough was enough, and the people at this school are going to do their jobs." Mr. Damocles was taken aback,

"What? What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know. Like how Lila Rossi got away with drugging my son? Or how there was no proper investigation before the expulsion of a student? Or how you don't ask for doctor's notes for illnesses like all the ones claimed by Lila? Or how the principal's office is the only punishment for anything? Do I need to keep going? I could for hours. See, I filed a strongly worded complaint to the Ministry of National Education, explaining that little expulsion thing." He found himself smirking as he said this, almost like he was taunting the feeble-minded principal.

"What?!" The principal paled, "Mr. Agreste, there is no need to do that! The girl was reinstated, and no harm is done. And what does this have to do with Adrien? He had an allergic reaction months ago, not drugs."

"Well, I don't care about the girl who got expelled. It bothers me that I have allowed my son to attend a school with such poor regard for how expulsion is handled." 

Did he like Marinette? He saw potential in her but knew she'd broken into his house once, so he wasn't fond of her as a person. So, when Lila had initially proposed Marinette getting expelled as a way of protecting Adrien from harmful influences, he hadn't been against it. But in hindsight, he was appalled by how fast the whole thing had gone down. But now this was his way of getting Lila exposed, and out of the picture. He understood Adrien wasn't going to do it since his mother had taught him to be kind to everyone.

"Because you must understand, Mr. Damocles, that I value the safety of my son over all else. But this school is just so corrupt by the deceit of a teenager."

"But Mr. Agreste, Lila is your new muse!"

"An error in judgment on my part. But as her former boss, because naturally I have fired her, and as a celebrity, I am in just the right place to spot her lies. But I want you to reopen the investigation, alongside the minister of education that shall be coming down. Because why should my son attend a school that humiliates their students wrongfully and makes them feel unsafe? So that investigation will happen, I suspect there will be some restaffing done. And you better fix this place before I tell my good friends Audrey Bourgeois and Tomoe Tsurugi that their daughters, nor anybody else, should attend this school." 

He noticed the Akuma perched eagerly on the window, waiting for those negative emotions to be ideal.

Mr. Damocles was pale as a sheet, "Mr. Agreste, you're overreacting!" Oh, what a terrible thing to say to one of the most powerful men in Paris, who was now deciding to make this man's life a living hell.

"Actually, I personally feel I am underreacting. I should have pulled Adrien out on the spot, and it's only his mending heart that stops me." He got up, "Think about this, and how this is probably the last couple weeks of you having a job." He then left, letting himself take some satisfaction in that man's apparent terror at having pissed off Gabriel Agreste.

He could tell Nathalie was waiting for him to leave before activating the Akuma. But he was shocked to have the Akuma instead follow him, going into his wedding ring, "Huh?!"

_ "I'm sorry, Gabriel." _ Mariposa said into his head, _"But I know how to get the Cat Miraculous, and it's not with an Akuma, or at least not one in the typical sense. Forgive me..." _

"NO!" He gasped as the Akuma left him, and he desperately started calling Nathalie, praying she'd pick up. When she didn't, he slipped on the earrings and transforming in the bathroom before racing across Paris to stop his dearest friend from throwing her life away.

_ Please, don't let me be too late. _

...

Nathalie sighed as she put the Peacock Miraculous on alongside the Butterfly. She had a plan, and she would do anything to make sure Gabriel's wish came true. She knew she would be the sacrifice to bring Emilie back, as another Peacock wielder, so she had nothing to lose. She doubted Gabriel knew about the sacrificing most likely being her, but it didn't matter. 

A new statue had been opened in the museum mere hours ago, and she had sensed the Amok there, meaning it was a sentimonster. Gabriel and Adrien had been eating breakfast and spending quality time together, so she'd gone on her own.

Sending out an Akuma and then an Amok, she managed to, through the Akuma, awaken and then akumatize the sentimonster.

"Feast, I am Monarch. I'm giving you the chance to consume all the Miraculouses. But in return, you must leave the Ladybug alone, and bring me the Black Cat. The rest is fair game, and I will even let you have mine when you're done." Did she mean that? No. She planned to destroy the sentimonster when she was done. But it didn't need to know that.

She felt the sentimonster agreed, and grinned as it started running down the streets of Paris, searching for Miraculouses. She smiled sadly, knowing this was going to be the end. 

But Gabriel would be happy, and that was worth it.

...

Master Fu gasped as he realized what had happened, his mistake was here to haunt him. But what could he do? He'd realized too late that the monster was here.

He looked to the Miracle Box. He had to get out of here with them. But he had to hope Plagg would be able to take care of the issue and live. He'd return when the ring was complete, but he had to get out of Paris!

...

Adrien woke up and found Nino and Plagg curled up next to him, "Guys?" Both blinked awake, brightening when they saw his eyes were open.

"Are you feeling better?" Nino asked, "What happened? Did something go wrong with talking to Marinette?" Adrien's mood darkened, and he sighed,

"Yes. She's...she's Ladybug." Plagg gave a dejected nod,

"Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't tell you." 

"It's okay." He sighed, and Nino looked really distraught, hugging him,

"Bro, I'm sorry. I had no idea she'd...we'll make it right, Adrien. Things are gonna be okay. Eventually."

Adrien didn't have time to respond before they all turned in shock as Nadja Chamack announced that Coccineil was fighting a sentimonster alone. Plagg immediately shifted,

"I'm gonna help your dad. Then we'll continue to talk." Adrien nodded, running to the window as Plagg jumped out.

...

Coccineil was trying to at least pretend to fight the sentimonster until Chat Noir arrived. He knew at this point that Nathalie calling back the monster wouldn't do anything. It was too late, and that was an eternal ache on his heart, but he wasn't going to throw away this chance for nothing.

Chat Noir appeared moments later, looking rather sad and shocked at the sight of the sentimonster.

"Chat! Any idea where the Amok is?" He asked, genuinely wondering if the hero knew, because he sure as hell didn't. There was nowhere it could possibly be! Nathalie had undoubtedly outdone herself with this one.

Chat Noir sighed, looking at it, "I've seen this sentimonster before. It's why I'm in Paris. It's from the Guardian Temple in Tibet, the thing that caused it, and led to the loss of the Butterfly and the Peacock." Huh? Chat Noir was from Tibet?

The hero walked towards it, "This monster consumed countless Miraculouses. But no more. Tell Adrien I'm really sorry..." Coccineil was even more confused, watching as the ground cracked under Chat Noir's feet. The sentimonster sprinted at him,

"Miraculous!" It's tongue launched at Chat, who just grabbed it, and the monster recoiled as Cataclysm was used on it. Chat Noir glared at him, powerful black energy blasting out of his hands, and Coccineil watched in awe and horror as the sentimonster was destroyed bit by bit. Reflekdoll had been angered by Cataclysm. But it was evident Chat Noir was infinitely more powerful now, and the monster disintegrated.

Nathalie's efforts...gone just like that.

But then Chat Noir turned slowly to him, and the transformation dropped as Cole was in the hero's place, the pendant around his neck glowing brightly. Coccineil ran to catch him as the boy collapsed into his arms.

He ran to the mansion, detransforming and holding Cole in his arms as he started gasping, in clear pain,

"I'm sorry...you had to...find out like this..." Cole got out weakly, and Gabriel held him. He needed to check on Nathalie, but he couldn't leave Cole right now, who kept flashing to Emilie before his eyes. The symptoms were so much like Emilie's...

"Cole, save your strength. I can't believe you're Chat Noir."

"I've...been here since my doctor, the guardian...said Hawk Moth was...dangerous. Mama died long ago...but Dr. Chan couldn't afford to...care for me...I needed to call on my heritage for help...I absorbed the Cat Miraculous into me...to protect it from Hawk Moth...but I'll be dead in two months..." his coughing got worse to the point there was blood. Gabriel's heart clenched at the idea Cole had thrown his life away to protect the Miraculous from Hawk Moth...he was the reason his nephew was dying. But if his doctor was the guardian, maybe...

"Cole, come on, stay with me. Don't die, _please_. Adrien needs you. I've really taken a liking to you."

"I'm sorry." Cole wept a little, "I didn't think you'd care. Didn't know you'd look for me or my body once I leave... I'm so sorry." He took one last shuddering breath, before falling completely slack. Tikki was frantic, had been trying hard to keep Cole alive.

But Gabriel had seen this before. He looked right now, identical to Emilie had. He was really...no...

Gabriel picked Cole up gently, placing the boy to rest in his own room. Then ran to make sure Nathalie was okay, begging to every god out there to listen and keep her alive. He renounced Tikki in the process of running and shrieked when he saw Nathalie limp on the ground, already gone.

And Gabriel could practically see everything fall apart around him. His nephew and his dearest friend, in the same situation as his wife, for eternity. He couldn't save all three of them. 

God, what would he tell Adrien? Adrien adored both Nathalie and Cole. And to lose them on the same day could break him beyond repair, especially learning Cole had been Chat Noir.

That thought coming back to him led to Gabriel retching on the floor of the observatory, anything he had eaten that day coming back up. He'd been trying to kill his own nephew...had thrown him off a building, possessed him multiple times...

He then got an idea. There was nothing he could do for Nathalie short of getting her comfy with Emilie for the time being. But if Cole had been cared for by the guardian after absorbing a Miraculous, there must be something that could be done!

He got Nathalie comfortable alongside Emilie, fighting back the tears as he made note he would need to get another pod for her. And he called Dr. Chan,

"D-Doctor...?" No response, just voicemail. For ten minutes, he tried calling, before deciding to track where the doctor could have stayed if he'd been here for a while, but came up empty.

The guardian was gone or not picking up. There was nothing he could do for Cole right now.

Gabriel was pretty sure he was the one in danger of dying from a broken heart, as all hope left him. And he could never get the Cat Miraculous, so even if he wanted to use the wish to at least save Cole—who had clearly become a lifeline for Adrien—or Nathalie, or Emilie. He couldn't since Cole essentially _ was _ the Miraculous.

He stumbled into Adrien's room, where his son looked worried with Nino and saw him come in.

"Father?" Adrien asked worriedly, "Are you okay? Did the sentimonster go down?" Gabriel nodded hollowly,

"Yes, Adrien, the sentimonster is defeated...but Cole...come see for yourself." Adrien visibly gulped, coming with his father and shrieking when he saw Cole on his bed, utterly still, with blood staining his lips.

"COLE!" Nino gasped from the doorway as Adrien ran in, grabbing Cole's shoulders, shaking him, "Cole? Cole?! _ Open your eyes_! What happened?!" Gabriel shook his head,

"He gave his all into killing the sentimonster since we didn't know where the object was. Apparently, he's been Chat Noir, and he absorbed the Miraculous somehow." Nino frowned deeply, and Adrien threw himself over Cole's body, crying even harder than he had earlier that day. Nino went over to comfort Adrien since Gabriel was in too much pain to move.

Adrien then gasped loudly, clutching his chest just above his heart. This whole mess was pulling on his heartstrings, and that could cause a heart attack! Gabriel managed to call the hospital, sadly knowing nothing could be done for Cole but knowing he had to try. Lord, what would happen when Nathalie was revealed: "missing."

The paramedics came not long after the call, guiding Adrien to the ambulance and grabbing Cole. They also transferred Gabriel, and he dully heard them say he was in emotional shock, which left him unable to really process things. They gave him some sort of thing he couldn't process, and he lost consciousness.

OoOoO

Adrien found himself back in the hospital, hooked up to machines once again. Nino was at his side, holding his hand, "What happened...?" he rasped, and Nino gave him some water.

"You started having a heart attack. We caught it before too much damage could happen, but you needed surgery since the second heart attack weakened your heart even more. You've been out for a couple days. Your dad went into emotional shock, so he's been a shell for the last few days. He's also in the hospital being monitored just in case he takes a turn for the worst, but he seems to be recovering."

"What about Plagg?" Adrien winced as he noticed there were stitches in his chest from surgery. Nino hesitated,

"He's...they don't know. He seems to be simply asleep, they claim since he seems healthy, but literally, _ nothing _ can wake him. They are calling it Sleeping Beauty Syndrome until a true diagnosis can be reached. But his doctor, Dr. Chan, or I suspect the guardian, is nowhere to be found. I'd ask the Ladybug kwami about this, but I don't know where your dad is keeping her."

Adrien used the remote to raise his mattress, "Marinette is the only one who might know how to help him. Please call her."

"Bro, are you sure you want her here, and aren't you supposed to be still resting since you had surgery a couple days ago—"

"I don't care! Nino, please, I can't lose Plagg again. And with how 'superior' Ladybug believes herself to be, there's no way she doesn't at least know something that could help Plagg." 

Nino nodded, pulling out his phone, "Hey, Marinette? Hey, can you come over? This is important."


	13. Chapter 13

Marinette burst into Adrien's hospital room, "What happened? I heard Adrien had another heart attack, and we've all be so worried! Especially with the Ministry of National Education doing an official investigation on the expulsion case. At least half the staff has been fired for incompetence." She was babbling, trying to behave like a friend and pretend the fight hadn't happened. And Adrien was willing to sell his soul if it meant he didn't lose Plagg again, so he let her ramble for a little bit.

Nino was not so enthusiastic, "Marinette, do you know anything about Plagg going into a coma sort of. He collapsed, and nothing can wake him up." Marinette froze,

"Plagg went into shutdown?" She bit her lip, "I don't know much, but Tikki said he'll wake up when he's rested in a few weeks or maybe a couple months."

"A couple months!?" Marinette shrugged in response, clearly nervous at the idea of their fight coming back up. Adrien was desperate. If Ladybug couldn't save Plagg, who could? "M'Lady, please! I'll do _ anything _, just save him..." Both Marinette and Nino were taken aback by the hopelessness in Adrien's voice, 

"I..." Marinette pulled out her phone, "Um...hi, Master? We need your help." She frowned, "You're in Britain? What the hell are you doing there?! Plagg's gone into shutdown, and everything's going to hell. Yes, sip your tea, it's not like Plagg sacrificed himself to kill the sentimonster you created or anything." She huffed, "I hate to be disrespectful, but this is seriously important. Get back here _ now _." She hung up, 

Nino waited, expectantly, "And?"

"He's in Britain. Even if he does decide to grace us with his presence, it's going to be in a few hours." Adrien sighed, trying to get out of bed, only to shriek as he felt like he'd gotten a meat pulverizer to his chest. 

Nino had to catch him and gently get him back in bed, "You need to rest. Surgery, remember. You're still supposed to be in the hospital for the week."

"Yeah, I know. And then five weeks of recovery at home. My entire life right now is an issue after issue with the occasional tragedy! Bugaboo, please, I'm running out of hope and time." He saw something dark behind Marinette's eyes like she was about to discuss terms, but instead, she bowed her head,

"You'll do anything?" He nodded, and Marinette smiled sadly, "Be happy, chaton." Then she started walking away, "I'll go see what I can do for him." Nino looked to Adrien, who was clearly hating being in the hospital once again,

"I should go grab the doctor to make sure you didn't tear any stitches in your attempt at getting out of bed." He got up, "I'll be back. Just...try to get some rest."

"That's all I've been doing for months now. Being useless and sitting around as those I love get hurt." Nino hesitated momentarily,

"Hey, you've still got me. Plagg's gonna wake up, and your dad will be in to visit as soon as he's deemed stable enough to not take any turns for the worst."

"You're gonna get hurt if you're around me. Nino, if you know what's good for you, leave me and never return." Nino wasn't hurt by this, rather angry, turning to a nurse to grab the doctor, and grabbed Adrien's shoulders firmly,

"Stop that train of thought right now. I'm not watching you slip away again!"

"As I said, don't look—" he gasped as there was a hand covering his mouth,

"No. I will have none of that. Do I need to call your therapist? Because I will. Yes, you have amazingly horrible luck. But you're just starting to get better, and I will drag your ass out of that rabbit hole if I have to. And if I 'knew what was good for me' as you put it, I wouldn't have done half the crazy things I have done in the last couple years, so what makes you think I'm suddenly going to abandon you now?"

"You've been depriving Alya of dates..."

"Yeah? Well, she understands that you are more important right now. If it was Marinette in your place, I'm sure she'd be doing the same to support her best friend. I'm not telling you to get better in a snap, but I am asking you not to push me away and discard all your progress." He then saw Adrien had started nodding off as adrenaline faded.

Dr. Malani checked him over and confirmed Adrien hadn't messed himself up. He also informed Nino that Gabriel was still borderline catatonic, but he was walking and such. They were sure he'd start talking again once he could see Adrien.

...

Marinette saw Plagg, where he was sleeping on his hospital bed. There were machines around, but he was only hooked up to the heart monitor, where he was stable. Even looking at him, he just looked like he was having a restful sleep. Sleeping as though nothing was wrong, as though he hadn't coughed up blood.

She sighed, looking at him. Tikki would know what to do, but she wasn't here right now. Probably wished she was.

She continued to gaze upon Plagg's form, seeing the pendant around his neck, glowing brightly still. She examined it and noticed there was a spell over the pendant. Must be the reason he was still keeping his form.

"Marinette, I came as quickly as I could!" Marinette whirled around and saw Master Fu detransform after using the Horse Miraculous, immediately wincing at the pain in his back. He was dressed as Dr. Chan. He gasped at the sight of Plagg, rushing over and trying to wake him.

They both whirled around as Gabriel came in. They were surprised he was checked out and not checking on Adrien. But looking at him, he looked like a part of his soul had died, like he had lost the light in his life. He was clearly shocked to see the guardian and practically shoved Marinette out of the room, slamming the door shut in her face.

...

"You're here! You're finally here!" Gabriel nearly sobbed, overjoyed. The guardian was here! He'll be able to wake Cole up! "Finally, you can wake him up!" Dr. Chan was taken aback,

"What?" Gabriel sat down beside Cole's bedside. Once he was checked out, he had gone to see Adrien, only to find his son asleep, so he came here.

"You know, you're the guardian. Cole told me. I didn't get many details, but something about him absorbing the ring? Don't understand much, so please clarify. And wake him up." Dr. Chan sighed, 

"He wasn't the original Chat Noir. The original one was having mental issues, so I took the ring, which was a horrible mistake, and led to the boy's fall. That was when Cole, my former apprentice, decided to absorb the ring into him. I've been spending the last month trying to fix the ring and get the magic out of him. That pendant around his neck prevents him from dying. But in two months, he will perish as Plagg returns."

Gabriel's eyes widened. Cole was going to die...and he wasn't the original Chat Noir. That means there was somebody else.

"Is there anything that can be done now? Or is he too far gone?"

"His system has gone into shutdown from exhaustion. Thankfully, the damage done isn't too severe, so he will hopefully wake around the time Adrien fully recovers from his surgery."

"I meant about the whole 'him dying in two months' thing."

"Oh." The guardian sighed, "There is nothing that can be done." He then gasped as Gabriel noticed the Horse Miraculous, grabbing it and hoisting the old man up by the throat. He was shaking, a broken man with nothing but hopeless determination left,

"Nothing that can be done, my ass. You are going to _ fix this. _You are going to fix _all of it_. I have lost everybody that mattered, and my son has had countless issues. No more. You're the guardian, so you can fix my plight." He transformed with the Horse Miraculous, teleporting to the observatory, and ripping the Miracle Box out of the guardian's bag, "My family is going to live, damnit!" He threw the grimoire at the now chained-up man, "You are going to translate this, so I can save him, and maybe even lift the curse over my wife, the same curse that infected my friend."

"Curse? What curse?" Gabriel turned, a broken grin on his face. If this were a _ Danganronpa _ game, his eyes would have the despair swirl like no tomorrow.

"It doesn't matter right now. What matters is you translating that book." He made a gesture, and his missiles became visible, "Or you will be blown to kingdom come. I'll be back to check on you later." He left the observatory and hid the Miracle Box in a safe in his bedroom. Then he transformed with the horse again and teleported back to Cole's hospital room, then hiding the glasses and screaming, "NO! DON'T GO!" which led to Marinette running in.

"Where's Dr. Chan?!" She asked worriedly, and Gabriel turned to her with tears in his eyes,

"That bastard just upped and ran!" He growled, punching the floor, "He wouldn't heal Cole!" Marinette rushed over to Cole's side, looking frantic. She turned to him,

"Do you still have the Ladybug earrings?" Gabriel shook his head,

"No, that son of a bitch took them." He lied, but he could tell Marinette believed it, and she looked sad. "He's just going to let Cole die..." he wept genuine tears because he cherished his family and wasn't about to watch Cole die. 

But if he were lucky, that guardian would translate the book, and he could save Nathalie and Emilie. Emilie always knew what to do, so she would think of a way to save Cole. Maybe the guardian could get the Miraculous out of him, and they could wish for Cole back.

Marinette bowed her head, "Mr. Agreste, you must rest. You've been in the hospital." Gabriel ran his hands through his hair,

"Trust me, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, when you are in the face of losing the ones you love most, you will not be able to rest. Ever. You're tired all the time, emotionally drained forever. But nothing helps."

Marinette nodded, "I understand, sir. But I do like to thank you for getting the case on my wrongful expulsion reopened." Gabriel shrugged, 

"It was more for Adrien than for you. Now go, I wish to be alone with my nephew." The girl left, and Gabriel held Cole's hand,

"I'm going to fix this, Cole." He vowed, "I'm not going to let you die because of people's mistakes." He chuckled humorlessly, "We both thought I'd be counting down the days until you were gone, but you've ended up like a second son to me." 

Should he call Victor? That his son was dying and deeply asleep? 

Gabriel scoffed at the thought. Victor had apparently turned Cole away before, so he wouldn't care. He dully wondered if people thought of him as he thought of his brother—utterly blind to the wonderful child he had. He wasn't blind, he was just horrible at expressing it. But he was getting better.

Speaking of which, he should go check on Adrien again. He kissed Cole's forehead, sighing,

"Just hang in there." He went to Adrien's hospital room and found Marinette was talking to Adrien. Nino grabbed him and pulled him outside the bedroom,

"Let them talk." Nino muttered, "May I ask where Nathalie is?" Gabriel's blood ran cold, but he had to hide the truth,

"You haven't seen her? I assumed she would have been in here with Adrien." Nino looked worried,

"No...maybe, we should call the police."

"Yeah, we should do that." He tried to sound really worried, but going crazy at the guardian took a lot out of him. So he waited for Adrien to finish his conversation,

...

"Adrien, I am so sorry for everything." Marinette said, "I want you to be happy, Adrien, but I also want things to be right between us." Adrien looked away from her,

"You don't need me." Adrien muttered, "You said it yourself, repeatedly." He tried to get into another position because his chest was aching not enough to hurt but enough to be eternally unpleasant. Marinette was taken aback,

"When did I say that?"

"Desperada. Two main ones that ring in my ears, but I know it happened at least eighteen more times. And seeing as I only just woke up after having open-heart surgery a couple days ago, I can safely say now is not the time to have this discussion. Can you save Plagg or not?" Marinette shook her head, and he turned away, "Go back to being happy without me."

Marinette bit her lip, wanting to say more, but knew now was not the time. She went to leave and felt Nino slip something into her pocket.

A business card for Adrien's therapist.

She sighed, deciding to maybe take him up on that.

...

Adrien was about to go back to sleep when his father came in, smiling sadly. Upon seeing Gabriel, Adrien brightened, his anger towards Marinette melting away as he felt the loving embrace of his only family member—of the ones in his life.

"I'm so glad you're alright, son. The surgery went well?" Adrien nodded, burying his face in the crook of his father's neck.

"I think so. I just wish I hadn't needed to have it."

"It's for the best. Hopefully, now your heart will be stronger, so we won't deal with this again."

"Anything on Cole?" His father hesitated, before quietly saying,

"No change. The doctors have hope he might wake up in a couple weeks." Adrien looked up,

"At least he's gonna wake up." He then broke down again, "I can't lose more people. I've already lost so many." He felt his father stroke his hair,

"I know, son. But we won't lose people anymore. Just give it some time, and everything will be okay."

Adrien let that loving promise lull him back to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Marinette walked into Whitney's office, feeling a little happier than she had in the last week. The investigation was still going, and Lila's lies were getting exposed left and right! She gave it three days before that fox was expelled for good.

She sat down with Whitney in the small office, and the therapist smiled warmly, "Hello, Marinette. I'm Whitney, but I assume you know that." Marinette nodded,

"Yeah. I think I need help."

"Well, whenever you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen." Marinette bit her lip,

"I've been stalking this boy I'm in love with, I know his schedule to the letter. But apparently, he's also been my anonymous video game partner who has a crush on me. I've rejected him constantly, wasn't all that nice to him. Apparently, at one point, his computer broke, so he used an account as himself, and I told him my partner was useless. I don't remember saying it, but he took it to heart. And I tried confessing my crush to him when he was about to reject me, and it just made things worse! Now he hates me!" She really was an idiot. How could she say that stuff to him? The worst part was that she could picture herself saying that.

Whitney frowned, "Okay. You were talking really fast, so here's what I understand. You stalked a guy, he likes your video game self, you tear him down constantly, and then reveal yourself once he's ready to move on."

"Pretty bad, isn't it?" Whitney nodded to herself,

"Well, I'm a one-on-one therapist. It looks like you two would need a relationship therapist. But I can, no offense, see why you've come here. I'm not going to push anything on you, but I suggest we work on that stalking thing first."

"There's also the fact I'm basically a yandere without the killing. I teamed up with Chloe Bourgeois to humiliate the guy's female friend." She saw the horror flicker behind the therapist's eyes,

"Okay. Why do you stalk him? What did you see in him that was so sought after? And I have a sneaking suspicion of who this boy is just by Ms. Bourgeois caring. What is it about him that wouldn't be appreciated by anyone else, at least in your mind."

"Well," Marinette felt herself get all dreamy-eyed talking about Adrien. "He's perfect, kind, loyal, funny, he loves his work, and he will do anything to please his father, and he's talented at everything he tries."

"Okay. But then you said Adrien was different as his video game self. And you rejected him then. Sometimes when someone is anonymous, they want to be their true selves without being judged. So what's he like then?" Marinette clenched her fist. She'd been hoping Whitney wouldn't figure it out, because now she felt dumb and like she was no more than an obsessed fan.

"He's a dork, always making jokes and bad puns," Marinette sighed, "I remember thinking I might have a crush on him if Adrien didn't exist. But then I shook it off because a world without Adrien is unimaginable. Adrien...no matter how hard I try, I cannot place him in the place of his other self, and vice versa." 

"Have you, by any chance, had some childhood trauma with abandonment?"

"No, why?"

"Because that sometimes leads to obsessive behavior with those you care about." She frowned, "Do you have any mental disorders I should know about?"

"Not that I know of."

"Have you ever thought about physically hurting yourself or others?" Marinette froze as she knew the answer was yes. She'd never thought about it too much, but the answer was absolute yes. But her silence was Whitney's answer, "You understand that I need to break confidentiality if you are thinking about hurting others."

"I'm not! I mean...if anybody hurt him...but I hurt him more than anybody else." She perked up, "You're Adrien's therapist. Can you tell me what he thinks of me?" Whitney stood up sharply, her friendly demeanor vanishing,

"Did you just come to me because you want me to lose my job so you can learn more about Adrien?" When Marinette nodded a little bit, Whitney pursed her lips into a thin line, "I'm usually very patient. But I refuse to work with someone who is only here due to another patient I have. Here," she gave Marinette a business card, "Here's a doctor I want you to see. And here's a therapist who might be able to handle this better than I can. You must understand I will have to tell your parents about your behavior because you're okay with hurting others for a crush?" Marinette darkened, not wanting her parents to know, "I'm really sorry, but that's policy."

Marinette sighed. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come to Adrien's therapist. The reviews about her said she was terrific and protective of her patients and confidentiality. Even she wouldn't put up with Marinette's issues.

Whitney smiled at Marinette's parents as they walked out, "Your daughter seems nice, but I am sad to say I feel I am not the best person to help her." She handed the business cards to Tom, who frowned,

"This doctor is for diagnosing mental disorders." Whitney hesitated,

"I'll talk to you more tonight, and help you get in contact with him." Marinette's stomach plummeted, knowing tonight her parents would see the truth about her behavior.

She was _ so _ grounded.

OoOoO

Gabriel went to check on the guardian, who was doing nothing. He growled at the old man, "What are you doing? Or rather, why are you doing nothing?" The old man glared,

"I will not give you this information without understanding why. You want to break a curse, but what curse is it?" Gabriel's grin became serpentine, 

"The curse of a broken Miraculous," he gestured to the Peacock in his hand, "You want Hawk Moth gone? I will give you every Miraculous in my care, including the Butterfly and Peacock, if you break the spell over my wife and friend, and then save my nephew." The guardian's eyes widened,

"You're Hawk Moth!"

"You didn't figure that out already? I'm not the bad guy, I'm just a desperate man trying to keep my family together. But I am not afraid to be the villain, so I can quickly force Ladybug's real name out of Tikki. Maybe she'll be more cooperative." 

"NO! Leave her out of it!" The guardian pleaded, "Promise me, you will surrender if I do this."

"You have my word. Don't know what that means to you, but you have it." Master Fu sighed,

"Okay. Take me to them." Gabriel grabbed hold of the chains and dragged the old man down to where Emilie and Nathalie were, "You've preserved them well. Why did you use the Miraculouses in the first place?"

"We found them in Tibet, and naturally were curious about jewels with magic powers. Enough said." The guardian gasped as he looked at them,

"They have taken the kwami's exhaustion." Gabriel then brightened, summoning Duusu, 

"Duusu, why did you never tell me you were exhausted?" Duusu shrugged, and the guardian muttered some words under his breath. Suddenly the little creature fell limp, very weak, in Gabriel's hands. He quickly went and grabbed some guava for the kwami, and she ate, getting better by the second.

Emilie and Nathalie both jolted awake. Gabriel brightened,

"Nathalie! Emilie!" He set Duusu down gently on a flower and hugged them both. Nathalie was clearly shocked, but Emilie looked at the guardian, screamed...

And shoved him off the railing to his death.

"Who was that, Gabriel?!" She asked frightfully. Gabriel's eyes were wide at how fast his wife had just committed murder, but he could tell from the look in her eyes that it had been an accident. Whatever, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

"An old man who helped me fulfill my promise to you." He held her hands, "Come, my love, we have much to talk about. Adrien needs you now more than ever."

They talked for hours, and Emilie was amazed by how far he went to fulfill his promise and was excited to see her son again. Nathalie was a little sad, but she didn't let it show.

Gabriel looked to the Miracle Box and noticed that in the box was a ring that was probably what was going to house the power running through Cole's veins.

He had all the power right now, and nobody to return it to. Wait...if they removed the magic from Cole, would he still die? But how could someone even do that? How had Cole absorbed the thing in the first place?

Well, he didn't need all this power unless it could somehow help Cole. Might as well return the Ladybug kwami to her real owner. He let Tikki out, and Emilie hid out of view as the kwami looked around,

"I think it's time for you to go home, Tikki." Gabriel said fondly, subtly moving the Miracle Box out of view, "Tell Ladybug I wish her the best." Lie, but the best way to remove suspicion of being Hawk Moth from him.

Tikki nodded eagerly, flying away. Emilie appeared, frowning,

"Why did you do that? We could have had the power of creation at our fingertips!"

"We don't need it, love. We have all the other Miraculouses, and the Peacock is fixed. And right now, we have a son who needs both his mother and father." Nathalie nodded, putting a hand on Emilie's shoulder,

"He's right. And your nephew is a good kid." Emilie smiled a bit,

"You're both right. Let's go see Adrien. I'm guessing the story is that I got kidnapped, and we had a lead to my whereabouts, so Nathalie was missing for a few days going undercover?"

"Sounds like a plan," Gabriel said happily, elated that his family was one huge step closer to being complete. And if Cole still needed help, Emilie was the best person ever to help.

OoOoO

Adrien was woken from his nap when he heard people gasping in the hallways. His father came in, looking ten years younger, a broad grin on his face,

"Adrien!" Adrien sat up, startled by the joy in his voice, "Nathalie went out a couple days ago, and she found your mother!" That got Adrien's attention, as his mother ran in, looking just as beautiful as ever.

"Baby!" She ran to his side, placing a loving hand on his cheek, "I'm so sorry I've been gone so long. But I'm home now. Your father's told me everything that happened. I'm so proud of you for staying strong for so long. We're gonna fix that school of yours, and everything will be okay."

Adrien wasn't fully processing what she was saying, just melting into her embrace, elated to be held by her once again. He'd lost hope of ever seeing her again. He sent a grateful look to Nathalie. Still, nothing could express how appreciative he was to have a woman as loyal as her in his life. She brought his Mom home.

"Mom...you're gonna love my friend, Nino! And Cole, he can play the piano with us and spend time together!" All this emotion was draining, but this was the first pure joy he had felt in a damn long time. He had a right to be overjoyed right now. 

They all heard the press down below and trying to get into the hospital to speak to Mrs. Agreste. However, none of them cared right now, just wanting to spend time with each other as a happy family.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason I'm dragging Marinette so hard here is because my girlfriend did the math and she should have a 186 year prison sentence (and that's after it gets cut in half for her being a minor). This needs to be dealt with, and from where I'm from, that stalking crap would not pass with anyone. Actually, where I'm from she'd be thrown straight into the loony bin for a while.
> 
> Adrien has flaws too, but he has yet to commit a CRIME in the name of love. No, before you say it, the Copycat incident does not in the EU legal system count as a crime, because Adrien was not the one to steal the painting, and lying about your relationship status is just frowned upon.

The return of Emilie Agreste, shockingly, didn't change much in Adrien's life. Maybe it was because he was stuck in the damn hospital until the end of the week, and was then on bedrest. 

Since she was the one to initially stop him from going to school, he had feared she'd pull him out. But apparently, she trusted his father's judgment, and they were just going to fix everything, no biggie. Maybe it was the whole heart attack thing. But hey, he was not planning on complaining any time soon.

The doctors had admitted there was nothing they could do for Plagg/Cole. They'd tried everything, and he just wouldn't wake up. So his father bought this weird pod-thing, and they installed it in Plagg's room, where he slept in the thing. Where his father had gotten the situation was a mystery, Adrien could not comprehend. However, his father told him not to worry about it.

He was currently playing the piano with his Mom, appreciating the time they had together once again. Once Plagg was awake, it would be even better! He and Nino actually made a cake for Nathalie in the kitchen as a "thank you" for finding Emilie. Nathalie insisted it was nothing, but Adrien didn't feel she understood just how huge this was.

The press was desperate to interview Emilie about the context behind her disappearance, so Gabriel was the one to tell them the truth about the kidnapping and Nathalie traveling to Tibet to rescue her. Adrien thought about it, and knew Nathalie would be an awesome superhero is she had saved his Mom _ without _ the help of a Miraculous.

Nathalie was clearly a little weirded out by being announced a hero all throughout Paris, and Gabriel had given her a raise. She seemed happy, though, working dutifully.

Adrien turned to his Mom, "Mom, why were you even in Tibet to begin with?" He had to ask because it had been really bothering him. Emilie shrugged,

"You remember how I used to get dizzy spells?" He nodded, wincing at the memory, "Yes, well, I went looking for a cure. I should have been more careful about hiding my identity. But apparently, all ransom notes got lost somewhere in the mail. Ridiculous if I do say so myself. Do you know how insulting it is when your kidnappers are incompetent as all get out?" Adrien chuckled a little bit, then darkened when she asked, "So what exactly broke your heart?"

"Um...it's complicated. Promise you won't freak out." She nodded, and he told her the story, removing the Chat Noir parts, but informing her about the Aspik trauma and how that failure had driven him over the edge. And then his friendship trouble with Marinette. She nodded along as he spoke, and he felt so good getting this off his chest to her. He had longed to talk to her again, hear what she had to say.

She nodded a little bit, "Sounds like taking a break is good. Let her get herself together. Oh!" She got out her phone, "I found this phone app, so when you're at school, I can tell where you are, and more importantly, there is a panic button, so if you need to leave, I can get there immediately." Adrien smile a little bit,

"Thanks for letting me still be at school." He chirped, "Once Lila is dealt with, you'll really like it there." He looked at the scar on his chest, "I'll still wait for a bit, the recommended time." Emilie hugged him,

"Oh, honey, I just want you to be safe. But no more jumping out the window. And no throwing yourself into danger." She helped him up, and they sat on the couch, "So tell me more about Cole."

Adrien told her about how they had been online friends and were lucky to be cousins and how they were close friends. "Once he wakes up, you'll like him. He's got some health issues going on, but nothing contagious. Reminds me a bit of what you had." Emilie frowned, holding his hand, kissing it,

"Well, if his condition is a little bit like mine, I can take him to Tibet sometime and see if there's a cure now." Adrien brightened. Apparently, the guardian temple was back, so yes, there could be a cure in Tibet.

"Can we go check on him, Mom? I don't like leaving him like this." Emilie nodded,

"Sure." So they sat by Plagg's bedside for a bit, and Adrien examined the pod.

"Seriously, where did he get this thing?" 

"I don't know, son. I don't know." 

OoOoO

Surprisingly, Marinette was not grounded by her parents. Whitney only expressed concerns about dangerous possibilities, and for that, she was grateful.

Her new official therapist, Tina, was friendly too, but also down-to-earth about how the stalking is a severe issue. They'd taken to having meetings every other day. Talking out her issues regularly was working wonders. And she decided time away from Adrien was a good thing. Stop worrying about him constantly, just sent a heartfelt apology e-mail and let him interpret it as he will.

_ "It's okay that you're taking time, as long as you realize there's a problem. It's normal to mentally prepare to be better, and then royally screw up. That's why baby steps are best, and you can't change overnight, no matter how much you want to. Realizing you have a problem is a great step, and next is to take down your schedule for this boy's activities, and then gradually stop caring what girls he hangs out with." _

_ "I can do that mentally, but when he's around..." _

_ "I understand. And that's why it's good to start with things that don't require him to be there." _

But at school, the investigation was coming to a close, and Marinette decided to take the high road as Adrien had initially suggested. No need to bash on Lila more if the adults were handling it.

She and the class were currently in another meeting about Adrien.

"Mrs. Agreste is back, and that's good," Alya said, "Do you think Adrien's gonna get better now? Or do you think she's gonna lock him up again?" Everyone frowned,

"I don't know." Alix said, "We could always try to invite him out once he's recovered from surgery and see what happens."

"After the brownie incident?" Mylene asked, "No. We should try getting on his Mom's good side first. Nino's already up there all the time." Nino shrugged, 

"Well, Gabriel likes me, what can I say? Mrs. Agreste seems nice. A little unnervingly calm with having been kidnapped for years, but who am I to judge. She does seem interested in Kitty Section, so that's a start." Luka brightened,

"We can throw a small concert for Adrien! Why didn't we think of this before?" He also frowned, "Hey guys, so we also need to figure out some more things. We figured out Desperada was the cause of the issue, but have you noticed how the last two akumas were more dangerous and connected to Adrien? What if Hawk Moth is trying to target him? Seeing as everybody in this room has been akumatized at one point, we can all vouch it's not the healthiest thing. What if an Akuma literally killed Adrien?" Rose shrieked,

"We need to stop him from ever getting akumatized!"

"If an Akuma was gonna go after Adrien," Nino mused, "Wouldn't it have already?" Juleka shrugged,

"Maybe it has? Cole was able to fight it multiple times."

"And look where it got him!" Kagami snapped, "In a Sleeping Beauty-like coma with no signs of _ ever _ waking!" Chloe huffed, 

"Guys, I've fought off an Akuma before, and I'm fine. I don't think the Akumas themselves are actually dangerous. Maybe Hawk Moth has decided to forcefully make it tiring, and that could contribute to health issues. Still, it is suspicious how Adrien was never even targeted to our knowledge." Marinette, knowing Gabriel had been akumatized twice, knew Gabriel was not Hawk Moth. But it was odd.

"Maybe because the source of Adrien's pain was an Akuma, meaning he might hunt down Hawk Moth as an Akuma?" Everyone chuckled at the thought of Hawk Moth being attacked by his own Akuma.

"That's probably it." Max said, "After all, Markov betrayed Hawk Moth as Robustus, so it's possible." Alya rolled her eyes,

"Can we all agree that we should actively think about betraying Hawk Moth next time we get akumatized?"

Nods from everyone, and a collective promise to prevent Adrien from getting akumatized at all costs.

OoOoO

That night, Emilie was alone in her bedroom, a wicked grin on her face as she opened her jewelry box, where the Peacock brooch resided alongside the Ladybug earrings. How pathetically easy it had been, she wondered how Gabriel had struggled for so long. All she'd had to do was say she needed to freshen up before seeing her son, transformed, and grabbed the earrings from the flying bug. Pathetic little thing hadn't stood a chance.

They had all this power at their fingertips. How could it not tempt Gabriel at all? Adrien telling her about the Snake had intrigued her even more, and her nephew having the power of death and destruction flowing through him. If he could absorb a Miraculous, could she too?

She activated the Miraculous, and the kwami fell into her hands.

"Hello. Tikki, was it? You're going to tell me everything you know about the Miraculouses, and the girl the city knows as Ladybug." She wanted power, but she also wanted to give that girl who dares risk her son's life and mental wellbeing hell. Even if she was technically evil, she still loved Adrien.

Tikki was shaking desperately, trying to stop herself, but was forced to spill everything she knew about the origin of the Miraculouses, and the wish, and all about Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Emilie crossed her arms, listening, "So if I were to combine all the Miraculouses?"

"You'd probably die," Tikki admitted, "but nobody's ever tried it." Emilie looked to the Miracle Box. Gabriel had kept it since there wasn't really anybody to return it to. She then fingered the incompleted Cat Miraculous, "So Cole has the power of the Cat Miraculous?"

"Yes." 

"Is there any way to safely get it out of him."

"Not without killing him." Emilie then smirked,

"So how does one absorb the power of the Miraculous?" Tikki shrugged,

"Willpower? I really don't know. I honestly doubt Cole knows." Emilie fingered the earrings, examining herself in the mirror. 

"How many people know Gabriel had the earrings?"

"Nino, Marinette, Adrien, and Cole." 

"Damnit." She then perked up, grabbing the Peacock, "That's not a problem. I can make sure Gabriel establishes he doesn't have them anymore for Adrien, Cole, and Nino. As for Marinette...apprentice guardian of the Miraculous." She transformed into Queen Pavo, using her personal brooch as an object to create a sentimonster that looked identical to Marinette. She was grateful to Nathalie for proving this was possible, "Go, sentimonster, bring me Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and then take her place." 

Tikki's eyes widened, "She made a mistake with Adrien! Don't hurt her!" Queen Pavo turned, cocking her head for a moment as though she was temporary forgetting the connection between Marinette and Adrien,

"That's not why I ask my sentimonster to get her, though it's an added bonus, alongside using the sentimonster as a personal spy while Adrien's at school. I made a mistake of killing that old man, so I am going to have that girl translate the book for me. After all, you said so yourself that guardians know more than the kwamis. And then my family can rule this world. You think my husband and assistant were bad? You've seen nothing yet."


	16. Chapter 16

Marinette and Tina were talking some more, this time about other aspects of her life outside of Adrien. Things were going smoothly. Marinette had always had her friends and Tikki supporting her bad decisions. Tina was the first person to say that was a problem, so it was a little easier to listen to the young therapist.

Tina grinned cheerfully. Even if she was in her late twenties, she only looked to be Marinette's age, with short brown hair and purple glasses.

"Well, Marinette, it looks like we're out of time. See you on Saturday." Her grin was infectious, and Marinette couldn't help but smile as well.

When she left the therapy building, only to come face to face with...herself? 

Her lookalike stared blankly, "Hello, Marinette." It said, grabbing her wrist faster than she could react and ran across the rooftops. Marinette was blinded by the pain in her probably snapped wrist, and she was thrown into an observatory, where she saw a beautiful woman standing above her, with blue hair cascading down her back like waves. Her dress was much like Mayura's, but also not.

The woman smiled maliciously, and, to Marinette's horror, held the Ladybug earrings in her hand.

"Hello, Ladybug." She said softly, yet threateningly, throwing the grimoire at Marinette and chaining her to the wall. Marinette felt her vision blur at the pain in her wrist, and tears fell down her face, "Translate this." 

"Who...are you...?" Marinette gasped out, whimpering in pain from her wrist, which she could feel was starting to swell a tiny bit and bleed.

"I am Queen Pavo." The woman said, her velvet voice sounding familiar somehow, "And you are the Guardian of the Miraculous after the death of your master."

"M-Master...?" Marinette gasped because she knew from the look in Queen Pavo's eyes that the woman was honest. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, trying not to cry. "What's in it for me?" 

"Tikki," the woman said to the kwami, "I order you not to eat until I permit it." 

"No!" Marinette watched as Tikki was forced to obey, "That's cruel!" 

"Yeah. Now get working." Queen Pavo went to leave, before vanishing into the floor.

Marinette saw the rockets pointing at her and wept as she tried to translate the book, if not for her own freedom than to save Tikki.

OoOoO

"Mom?" Adrien looked around the house for his mother, because he couldn't find her anywhere, "Mom? Where are you?" 

"Yes, Adrien? What do you need?" He turned and saw his father smiling softly. 'Cole' being in his wakeless state was hard on them all, but the return of Emilie and Nathalie was enough for them all to still be able to smile.

"Oh...I was just wondering if she wanted to join me with piano practice. But I can't find her." Gabriel frowned, 

"Maybe she's out shopping?" He checked his phone, "Yup. She's out shopping for pastries." The mention of pastries both made Adrien's mouth water, and then a knot in his stomach since he was reminded of Marinette. 

"Well, do you want to join me?" He saw his father brightened, 

"I'd love to." 

It was strange, Adrien found himself thinking, how things had changed so much. But really, he found himself pretty damn lucky, especially once Plagg wakes up. He was desperate for Plagg to wake up, but would Plagg want him to spend all day moping? 

It was hard, though, to not always worry about Plagg. But it did help that he could confide in his father about being scared.

"Dad...is Cole gonna wake up? It's been nearly three weeks. What if he doesn't wake up?" His father sucked in a breath,

"Cole is going to wake up. And I'm going to let him stay here indefinitely." Adrien's eyes widened,

"What?" He did his best to sound excited, but how were they going to hide Plagg's identity if Cole Willis is accepted as a permanent member of the family? 

His father nodded, smiling genuinely, "He is family after all. And I would never throw you onto the streets with multiple health issues the second you turn eighteen. Why should I give him that treatment? Besides, you two are really close, and he's almost like a second son to me."

On the one hand, Adrien was thrilled that his father liked Plagg. On the other, how was he going to explain the ring situation? 

For a split second, Adrien had a jolt of fear that his father did know the truth and had done something to keep Cole around. But no, that was just paranoia talking.

Adrien smiled a little bit, sighing. He still had to be grateful he had both of his parents and Nathalie.

He turned when he saw the door open, and his mother came in with bags of pastries,

"Hello, my lovelies." She said happily, kissing her husband and hugging Adrien, "What are you working on?"

"A new piece!" Adrien chirped, "Wanna hear it?" Emilie nodded, and Adrien and Gabriel played the song once again.

This went on for an hour, a happy family until Nathalie came in, a bright smile on her face. Adrien noted there was a tad bit of sadness in her eyes, and wondered why.

"Cole just woke up." She said, and that got both Gabriel and Adrien up and running to Plagg's room, where he was sitting in the opened pod, disoriented and clearly still exhausted. But his eyes were open.

"Cole!" They both ran at him and hugged him tightly. Adrien could have sworn he saw Tikki, but that was crazy. His father didn't have the Miraculous anymore.

"Wh 'appened?" Plagg asked, his voice a little slurred, "I'm tired."

"You've been unconscious for nearly three weeks." Gabriel said, "Nothing we could do would wake you." He kissed Plagg's forehead, "But the fact your awake means you're getting better." 

Adrien was nearly weeping in joy. Plagg was awake! And now everything was perfect, except for that little issue with his father wanting 'Cole' to stay around, but that was roughly a month away, so he had time to worry about that later. 

But would it be terrible if Plagg stayed human forever? 

Yes, the logical part of his brain said, because he was exhausting himself just trying to maintain a physical form. 

Adrien sighed, remembering his friend was struggling at every waking moment. But he was still relieved that Plagg was awake.

He saw Plagg fall asleep, his head on his father's shoulder. Gabriel smiled lovingly and picked Plagg up, setting him on the actual bed,

"Just keep fighting, Cole," Gabriel said quietly, "You're getting there."

OoOoO

It took a while, but Plagg managed to become more and more aware of his surroundings. He was so tired that when he woke up the first time, his eyes weren't even functioning. He had been terrified he was blind, but he could see a little bit the second time he woke up.

Every time he awoke, either Adrien or Gabriel or both were by his side. He was too weak to function for many days, and he needed to be spoon-fed. Doctors came, but they just suggested more rest.

Today was about a week after he had woken up, and Adrien was helping him with the schoolwork. Or at least that's what the adults thought they were doing. They were actually watching movies. Adrien had needed to melt a ton of cheese so Plagg could ingest it, especially since he was too weak to chew anything. 

He knew it was painful for Adrien, seeing him like this, but they were getting there slowly.

When the movie was over, Adrien sighed, "Hey, Plagg...something's going on with Marinette."

"Hm?" 

"She's colder. Still friendly, but it just doesn't seem genuine anymore. I'm afraid I broke her."

"Not...your...fault..." he managed to get out, but even those words were tiring. Adrien sighed,

"I guess. Should I try talking to her?" Plagg nodded, and Adrien smiled, curling up next to him, "Thanks. We both should probably try sleeping." Plagg nodded and instantly drifted back into slumber.

OoOoO

Something was going on with Marinette. 

The entire class had realized it by now. After Lila had gotten exposed as having faked the entire expulsion, and that led to her and her mother moving back to Italy.

But Nino remembered the threat Lila had made as she was dragged away by her furious mother. The liar had figured out he was the one to have convinced Gabriel to go through with that restraining order.

_ "One day, Lahiffe, I will find you, and you will pay!" _

It was just a lie, he told himself, it was just an intimidation factor. But he still couldn't shake it off, especially with Marinette's off behavior.

Marinette walked into class, "Hello, Nino." She said happily, "How're you doing?" 

"I'm doing well, Marinette. Did you hear Cole woke up recently? Adrien didn't want me to tell you guys yet since it's been touch-and-go, but the doctor confirmed last night that he's going to make a full recovery." That got happy responses from the entire class, but Marinette was oddly stoic about that.

"That's great!" Kim said happily, "We all noticed Adrien was gone from school the last couple days, but I thought he was spending more time with his mom."

"We should throw a party or something for Cole!" Alix suggested, "He's our friend, and we've all been worried about him." 

Marinette sat down, "I'll start designing a sign."

"Marinette, are you okay?" Alya asked, "You've been acting a little different lately."

"I'm fine," she said, "You can call me Mari if you want."

That got everybody's attention. Marinette usually didn't like having her name shortened to Mari. For her to be okay with it now...

Either something was wrong, or this wasn't Marinette at all.

OoOoO

Queen Pavo growled, realizing she had no idea how to make Sentinette act like Marinette since she didn't know too much about how Marinette behaved other than stalker or sobbing guardian girl.

She turned to the chained up girl. Marinette's wrist was clearly very badly broken and was starting to heal wrong in the two weeks since she'd been swapped out with the sentimonster. But she was translating the book slowly but surely. Tikki was curled up on the ground of the observatory, extremely weakened to the point she looked ready to pass out.

"Can you go any faster?" She asked, only for Marinette to glare,

"The only reason I'm doing this at all is for Tikki. Here's the next chapter that was translated." She handed the villainess some papers, and Queen Pavo tossed her some bread.

"Eat up. You earned it." She then left, leaving Marinette to shake from the cold. She'd grown used to the pain in her wrist, but it was still excruciating. She was just glad it wasn't her dominant hand.

She looked to Tikki, who was exhausted and starving, due to the order that prevented her from eating. She'd tried to get Tikki to eat, but it had failed.

God, this book was really thick. Marinette didn't know how long it had been since the visits from Queen Pavo were irregular, but she assumed it had been at least a couple days. And she was only four chapters in! 

She didn't know how long she was working. It was a long time, she supposed until someone came up the elevator. 

She was shocked to see Gabriel Agreste staring at her with wide eyes.

"Marinette?!" He ran over to her, "What are you doing here? Scratch that, how did you get up here?"

"Mr. Agreste?" She asked weakly, "What are you doing here?"

"I live here. This observatory is where I come when I need to meditate so I can picture and finish new designs. I did not expect to find someone up here."

"A villain named Queen Pavo has had me up here for a long time." Gabriel gasped, a hand flying over his mouth.

"I don't have the key, so I'm going to go find it. I'll be back soon. Are you okay at the moment? I'm going to get you out of here, but it's going to take a little bit."

Marinette nodded, "I could be worse. My wrist is really severely broken, but I'm not dying." 

"Okay. Just hang on, I'll be back very soon. I just need to talk to someone." He then went back down the elevator, leaving Marinette to her thoughts.

Queen Pavo...if she lived in the Agreste mansion, then that meant she was Mrs. Agreste. But how did she get the Peacock Miraculous? Master Fu was dead, but how did she find him? Sure, she was rich and could have traveled, but something still felt off. But Gabriel hadn't acted like a villain at all. She had seen his eyes, and he was genuinely horrified and shocked to find a prisoner in his observatory. He was probably going to talk to his wife. 

God, if Adrien's mother was a villain and had returned from wherever she had been as a changed woman, that would break Adrien even more. Poor Adrien.

What if Mrs. Agreste found out about Plagg?!

That was a dreadful thought, and Marinette's blood ran cold as she thought about it.

"Adrien...Plagg...be careful."


	17. Chapter 17

When Gabriel had gone up to the observatory as a means of focusing to work, he had not in a million years thought he would find one of Adrien's classmates chained up there. Because really, that's not something the average person sees as reasonable.

He hadn't been up there in a bit, so the only possible culprits of Marinette being there were Nathalie and Emilie.

He highly doubted either his wife or assistant would kidnap someone, so he decided he'd talk to whichever he found first, which just so happened to be Emilie.

"Hello, Gabriel!" Emilie said happily, and Gabriel felt terrible for what he was about to ask.

"Emilie...we need to talk." She frowned,

"Talk? About what?"

"About Ms. Dupain-Cheng in the observatory. I found Adrien's classmate there, Emilie." Emilie was taken aback for a moment but knew instantly that he knew the truth, and her expression became loving, holding his hands, 

"My dear Gabriel, don't you understand? We can rule the world together. The Agreste family can be the gods of the new world. All we need is translations of the book, and we shall be unstoppable. And that girl hurt Adrien, so it's only fair."

Gabriel smiled because it all made sense now. She was doing this for their family, just as he had terrorized the city to have her back, "Understandable. But how did you catch the kwami?"

"Kwami-catching sentimonster. I was lucky Ladybug didn't seem to be home like the creature expected, so the capture was easier. Now what we need to do it get that destruction power out of Cole."

"Without hurting him," Gabriel insisted, "Imagine how you would feel if something happened to Felix, that's how I feel about Cole."

"Of course." Emilie hugged him, "I'm glad you understand. I'll go tell Marinette that I knocked you out or something." Gabriel felt a strange twinge of guilt, but he would never betray his beloved Emilie.

Nathalie had no such restraint. 

The assistant had heard everything and decided enough was enough. Gabriel had Emilie back, and he had promised no more villainy. She wanted more than anything for him to be happy, but he was pushing it right now and it could destroy the happiness they had worked for. 

Grabbing the key to the restraints, she grabbed the first Miraculous she spotted from the Miracle Box, transformed, and went to the lair.

"Relax, I'm gonna get you out of here." She sighed as she carried the injured girl to her flat about a mile from the mansion. Emilie would look for Marinette at her own home, not Nathalie's. Even better was the fact the assistant basically lived in the mansion's guest room as of late, rarely coming back to her own home.

"Nathalie?" Marinette asked weakly. Nathalie responded by giving her some water,

"Drink. You'll feel better after some food and water." Marinette's eyes widened,

"Gabriel is Hawk Moth! He was my partner for a time and..."

Nathalie sighed, "Please don't be mad at him. He was just doing it to save his wife, but he is blind to her selfish and ruthless nature. But he was ready to give it all up. Finding Master Fu was a twist of fate, and Emilie was the one to kill him."

Marinette sat up, whimpering, "If you're Mayura like I assume you are, why are you helping me?"

"I only became Mayura to help the man I love. Gabriel's dedication to his family is very appealing to me. I guess I understand your feelings for Adrien. But he promised no more villainy once Emilie was back, so I wouldn't stand for you being up there. Gabriel is not a bad man, he's just a fool in love with the wrong girl." She saw Marinette's facial expression change to one that confirmed she understood how far someone would go for love.

"What about Adrien?" 

"Safe. If Emilie loves anyone, it's her son. If anything, she's probably going to try to recruit him. But I know Gabriel will not let anything happen to Adrien or Cole. But you must rest. I need to get back to the mansion." She went into her closet and pulled out a wrist brace she'd kept from when she sprained her wrist a few years back from sneezing while falling down the stairs, "Here. This should help for now."

"Please," Marinette begged, "Make sure Tikki is safe." Nathalie nodded,

"I'll help Tikki, Cole, and Adrien, you make sure Gabriel isn't hurt in this." She left, and Marinette passed out from exhaustion.

OoOoO

"Nathalie," Emilie walked up to the assistant as she came back, "Where were you?" Nathalie, having already prepared for this, gave Emilie and look that told her it was the time of the month. A perfectly reasonable explanation to a twenty-minute absence if she had to go to the store.

And Emilie accepted that answer, "Well, that's unfortunate. But you're willing to do anything to help my family, right?"

"I wouldn't be working here if I wasn't."

"Good. So... I need you to find one of Adrien's stalkers, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I have reason to believe she might try assaulting Adrien or something."

"Okay, then. I'll start looking immediately." Nathalie said, and Emilie went up to check on Adrien, who was sleeping next to Cole as Gabriel read an old book to them.

"Reading those two a bedtime story?"

Gabriel nodded, "Adrien was having trouble sleeping, and we both know he needs rest. Cole was out within a few moments." He looked down at the two boys lovingly, "The sooner we get the destruction power out of him, the better. We don't have long before he's supposed to be..." Emilie kissed him passionately, cutting him off from even saying Cole might die,

"I've already called Amelie and Felix, so Felix can come to keep Adrien and Cole company so you and I can work with Amelie to find a way."

Gabriel hesitated, "Do you know about James? I... I didn't want Adrien going to the funeral, so Felix might be a little bitter."

"Don't worry about that," Emilie assured, feeling bad for her brother-in-law, who also fell victim to the Peacock Miraculous while trying to help her, only he actually died from it. She held his hand, smiling when she saw he was still wearing one of the Graham de Vanily twin rings, "We're going to make this right."

Gabriel nodded, "Of course we are. We're all going to be a happy family soon."

OoOoO

Plagg's entire body had felt like lead for who knows how long now, and he hated feeling so helpless, needing to even be spoonfed. But Adrien had been there with him every step of the way.

Gabriel had helped him out of bed and to Adrien's room. They hadn't talked about the supposed revelation of him being Chat Noir, but he knew it was coming. Adrien being by his side every second of every day was probably the reason the talk hadn't happened yet.

Plagg was surprised to see an Adrien clone walk into the room, only with slicked-back hair and wearing more formal clothes. Adrien brightened,

"Felix!" He hugged this person, Felix, apparently, and gestured to Plagg, "This is Cole, another cousin of mine."

"Yes, I've heard." Felix said blandly, "I've heard all about Cole and his health issues. I've also heard about your issues." Adrien flushed in embarrassment, 

"Yeah, this last while has been...hard."

"Hard?"

"Bad."

"Bad?"

"Rough."

"Kinky."

Adrien laughed but also glared at his cousin's momentarily mischievous expression, "You're the worst sometimes, you know that?"

"Yes, I suppose." Felix quietly sat down, and Adrien sighed,

"Felix... I'm really sorry I couldn't come to your Dad's funeral. I wish I could have gone."

"Do you always do what your father says?" Felix asked, and Adrien shrugged,

"He's very... protective... of me." Felix softened hugging him. Plagg noticed him starting to reach for Adrien's phone, but cleared his throat and that stopped him.

"So... what should we do?" He asked, deciding to try changing the subject away from people dying. He tried to get up to grab a video game or something, only to become unbearably dizzy and collapsed on the ground.

"Cole!" Adrien ran over and helped him sit up, "You need to lay down."

"No...I'm fine, Adrien," Plagg assured, more than a little frustrated, "I just stood up too fast. That's all." He got up again, leaning on the wall for support, attempting to hide the glow of the amulet around his neck. While he'd gotten occasional breaks, Gabriel was constantly checking on him, which gave him very little time to truly rest. And with Adrien's actual cousin here, it was going to be even harder to keep this up. It was times like this that he missed the Miraculous.

Then he got an idea. After defeating the sentimonster, undoubtedly, the guardian temple must be back. Maybe, somebody at the temple could fix the ring so he could finally rest. But with how exhausted he was, the Miraculous might just downright break, and that would be dangerous for Adrien.

He managed to grab a video game, and tossed it down to Adrien, "Hey...I'm gonna take a bath, okay? You two hang out without me." He then went into the bathroom, grateful Adrien knew what 'bath' was code for.

It took all his willpower to wait until the bath was full so he could turn off the water before removing the amulet and vanishing instantly, passing out and drifting far beyond just a dreamless sleep. In the back of his mind, he sensed something was wrong with Tikki, but he was so tired he could barely process it...

OoOoO

Nino and Alya looked to each other as they watched Marinette walk into class. Everyone had all mutally agreed this was not Marinette at all. Nobody could agree on what it was, just that this wasn't the girl they all knew.

Even Miss Bustier was alright with this plan, in which a net was dropped on top of Not-Marinette and Kagami briskly got Marinette tied to a chair with the help of Mylene and Ivan.

Nino got up, "We know you're not Marinette. Who or what are you?" Was it Chameleon again? They didn't know.

"What are you talking about?" Not-Marinette asked, "Of course I'm Marinette."

"I know my best friend," Alya said, "So tell me something only Marinette and people in this room would know. Who was my first theory on the identity of Ladybug?" The answer was Chloe, which was wrong on so many levels that it was the perfect question to ask.

Not-Marinette was flustered for a moment, before she suddenly gasped.

Everyone turned around to see the real Marinette standing there, looking like she had been to hell and back, "The answer is Chloe." 

"Marinette!" Alya ran over to her real best friend, "What happened to you?!"

They watched as Not-Marinette was reduced to nothing more than a blue feather. Nino recogized that as a feather from...

"Mayura!" Alya, Nino, and Chloe all shouted in synch.

Marinette shook her head, "Not Mayura, but her boss: Queen Pavo. She was even controlling Hawk Moth."

"Even controlling Hawk Moth?!" Nino asked, paling in dread at the idea of someone who makes Hawk Moth look like a baby.

Chloe sat Marinette down, "We need to get you to a hospital, or at least get you some food. Sabrina! Go get Marinette something to eat." Sabrina scampered off.

Alix knelt at Marinette's side, "Do you know who Queen Pavo is?" Marinette paused for a moment, and Nino knew she knew, but for some reason was hiding it,

"I'm not entirely sure yet, just that she has something planned for Cole, and has Ladybug captured as well!"

So Queen Pavo had the earrings, and knew about Cole/Plagg having the destruction powers. This was bad, this was very bad. But, even if Nino doubted Gabriel still had possession of the earrings, it was still worth time to investigate,

But just in case he was wrong, he decided to not be entirely honest about the reason for this, "Since Cole is clearly in danger, let's go to the Agreste Mansion first."

OoOoO

Amelie crossed her arms, "So, you're saying Cole has the power of destruction, and he's going to die in a few weeks. And you need my help to get the power out of him _ without _ killing him, and then the whole family becomes gods of the new world, am I following this?"

"Yes. You are following this," Emilie said, "James wanted to do this too, do why shouldn't we try again? We just have to make sure Cole doesn't die in the process." 

Amelie flinched at the mention of her dead husband, and looked at a desperate Gabriel.

As much as Gabriel disliked Emilie's side of the family, he really was desprate right now. Cole was staying awake less and less, and doctors said that while nothing came up on scans, it was likely that something had burned through his adrenal gland...or his body was in the process of shutting down permanently.

And Gabriel had grown to love his nephew like his own son, and as such would do anything if it meant he wouldn't die in a couple weeks. Each day went too fast as he waited for a response from the guardian temple, when he had sent a letter, pleading for help. He'd even gone to Tibet himself, but found nobody at the temple. Was everybody who originally lived there still dead? Were they in hiding? He didn't know, and it terrified him as Cole's estimated death date was getting closer.

Amelie pondered this, before smirking a little, "I'll help you, if you agree to give me the Graham de Vanily twin rings when we're done?" 

Gabriel clenched his fists. He should have known Amelie would ask for that. But seeing as these were his wedding rings, he was rather against the idea. Then he weighed the options. Two rings when he could buy different wedding rings—even if some aspects of these specific rings were irreplaceable—or Cole's life.

Emilie begrudgingly nodded to her sister, "Deal. I'll have Nathalie take you to your room, and we will discuss more in the morning. Goodnight, sister." Amelie nodded,

"And you too. I'm glad you're back." She left, and Emilie chuckled,

"I can feel you staring, Gabriel. Don't worry, I have no plans of actually giving her the rings. But now we have an ally in saving Cole, isn't that what you want?"

Gabriel nodded, still looking guiltily in the direction of the lair, since he was unaware Marinette had escaped. Even if she had hurt Adrien, keeping her locked up there still didn't feel right. He decided he would convince Emilie to let her go once Cole was safe.

But even then, there was a voice in the back of his head, saying that he shouldn't be doing this.


	18. Chapter 18

Nino rang the bell to be let into the mansion. Since he was in Gabriel's good graces for right now, he was allowed in without much fuss, but he was surprised to see a woman who looked identical to Mrs. Agreste, standing next to Mrs. Agreste,

"Hello... Nino, was it?" Emilie asked, "Adrien's upstairs with his cousin." 

"Actually, I'm here to talk to your husband." Emilie frowned, 

"Okay. He's in his office." She grinned at the woman he could only assume was her sister, "Come on, Amelie, let's go set up plans." Amelie grinned, and the two sisters ran off, and Nino walked into the office,

Gabriel smiled, "Nino, what is it?"

Nino explained the situation with Marinette and how a supervillain knew about Cole's destruction powers.

"You know?!" Gabriel asked, more than a little panicked, and Nino nodded,

"I've known since the first day he was at school. He lost control and asked for my help since I'm Adrien's friend. That was before he was sick. But do you have any idea who could know about Cole's situation?"

Gabriel crossed his arms, "Emilie and Amelie do, same with Adrien, I'm not sure about Felix... but after defeating that sentimonster, Cole detransformed in public. I shielded him as quickly as I could, but someone could have recognized him as Cole Agreste."

Nino smiled a little, noticing that change in surname. 

"Well, Mr. Agreste... please forgive me for suggesting this... but what if your wife is this villain?" Gabriel's eyes widened, and he grew angry,

"Emilie is no villain!"

"I'm not saying the woman you married is, but what if her time away while she was missing changed her? Even then, this is just a theory." Gabriel crossed his arms,

"Well, I think I would know if I had both my son's stalker and a superhero in my house."

"I didn't say she was keeping them here... Keep an eye on her. It never hurts to be cautious." 

Gabriel sighed, "I suppose you're right. I know my wife isn't a villain, but it never hurts to be cautious. Is that all your business here?" 

"I was going to check on Cole and Adrien as well." Gabriel nodded, gesturing for him to go. Nino was surprised he hadn't been kicked out instantly after suggesting his wife was a villain, not that he was going to complain as he went upstairs, surprised to see how similar to Adrien that Felix looked.

Adrien brightened, "Nino!" He got up and hugged his best friend, and Nino said bluntly,

"Dude, I think your Mom's a supervillain planning to leech off of Cole's power." Nino knew that if his theory was correct, there was a pretty good chance Gabriel was Hawk Moth, but right now, _ he _ didn't seem that big of a threat, especially if his goal was what Nino assumed it was in saving his wife. Sure, Nino was still angry that there was a chance Adrien's father had been terrorizing Paris, but he would wait to be pissed until he was proven right, and Queen Pavo was dealt with because she was the current threat to Adrien and Plagg.

Adrien recoiled, "What?"

"Yeah, that tracks," Felix muttered, looking to where Plagg was sleeping, "Adrien explained that he absorbed the power in a magic ring, so it makes sense." Adrien backed up, shaking his head,

"No, Mom wouldn't do that. Are you insane, Nino?!"

"No, I'm not." Nino said, "Marinette appeared in class, saying she and Ladybug were kidnapped by a villain who knew the power of the Miraculous. She clearly knew who it was. Normally, I would ease you into this, but I'm afraid you and Cole are in danger."

"Mom would never hurt me." Adrien insisted, and Nino grabbed Adrien's shoulders,

"Bro, I know she wouldn't hurt _you_. But what about Cole? This is just a theory, but even your Dad agrees it's better to be safe than sorry. He's going to watch her," he already knew he should take Gabriel's report with a grain of salt, so he planned to text Max to hack into the security cameras.

...

Adrien bowed his head, "You're wrong. But... just in case you're right... it doesn't hurt to be safe. I don't want Cole to get hurt." Felix snapped his fingers,

"Adrien, you're much more naive than I am, I can confirm there is an 87% chance your friend is right." Adrien whirled around, and Felix shrugged, "You never used to listen to their late-night conversations. Mother lets me get away with anything because I have so much blackmail over her."

Adrien was flabberghasted and fell to his knees as his life fell apart around him. He worried he was in danger of another heart attack, and got up to take some meds before he doubled over.

This was all happened so fast. Ten minutes ago, Adrien and Felix were playing video games and caring for Plagg. Now he was remembering Lady—Marinette's theory about his father being Hawk Moth. Was it true? No. No, Felix was messing with him, and Nino was using the limited info he had to make a theory that would be proven wrong shortly. That was it. Nothing more to it.

Nothing more to it. This was all there was. His mother wasn't a villain, and his father wasn't Hawk Moth! He wasn't the son of two villains, it wasn't true.

Yeah, it couldn't be, because his father had been helping fight akumas as Ladybug's replacement for a time, and he had seen the butterfly symbol... unless Nathalie...

He clutched his head and screamed as all the pieces clicked into place, so matter how hard he tried to stop it.

...

"They're onto us." Gabriel told Amelie and Emilie, "You were right, Emilie, about Marinette escaping and causing a big issue."

Emilie sighed, "I figured. I guess we can't let her live much longer, instead of just capturing her again." Gabriel's eyes widened at the idea of actually killing someone, and Amelie waved her hand,

"Felix won't say anything to them to confirm these theories of theirs," she assured, "But I have an idea. What if we fuse the Ladybug and the Peacock, so we can suck the destruction power out of Cole with the Sentimonster? The Ladybug can unite with it, so we are in control of that power, even without the ring."

"That might work," Emilie grinned, "I'll get the earrings. All we'll have to do is keep Adrien away from Cole for long enough to take him into the basement to get the power out." 

"Is this going to hurt him?" Gabriel asked worriedly, and to his horror, Emilie just shrugged,

"There's no way to know for sure. This shouldn't hurt him, but I'm sure we can heal him when we're gods." She beamed, "I'll be right back. Nothing will stop us now." She ran off, her heels clicking as she went.

This was everything they had wanted for years, Gabriel knew it, but he knew he would stop this instantly if Cole got hurt. Then he shook himself. Cole was going to die if they _ didn't _ do this. He would understand. Maybe they could use the Ladybug to nullify that power tearing apart his nephew. 

At least, he hoped.


	19. Chapter 19

"Adrien—"

Adrien sprinted out of the house like a man possessed, ignoring the shouting of those trying to stop him. But it didn't matter anymore. The pieces had clicked into place about what kind of people his parents truly were, and all he could do was_ run, run, run, run, run! _

Where could he go? He didn't know anymore, he couldn't even think straight, it felt as though the world was spinning and his chest hurt, and he felt his body forcing itself to stop running, even though he wanted to get away.

And he began to cry again, hugging himself and falling to his knees by the water. He had thought... but... his father was Hawk Moth...?

He thought about how happy he had been that the one good thing about his heart attack was that he had gotten his Dad back—the one before his Mom went missing. Had that all been a lie? He thought about all those times Hawk Moth had shown no remorse nearly killing him. The Heroes' Day, being in so much pain he hadn't been sure he could stand to be part of his father's party.

His father thought that boy he had pummeled into the ground so many times had been Plagg—or Cole—did he regret any of it? Would he have if he had known it was his own son?

And his mother... Nathalie had to be part of this too, and clearly his Aunt Amelie and to a degree, Felix also. Did he know his family at all?!

"Adrien..."

Adrien looked up, and found himself face to face with Luka—the right choice, the one Ladybug had needed, not him. 

Luka—someone who was kind to him as both himself and Chat Noir. 

"Luka," he wiped his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"Marinette explained Cole might be in danger, and I was headed over to your place to make sure you both if you were okay."

"Oh..." he hugged himself as Luka helped him up, "Cole's tired, really tired."

"Adrien, a villain is coming after Cole, have you heard?"

"Yeah. Nino told me about it, and I—I guess—it's complicated."

Luka nodded pensively, walking with him, "Come on, how about I take you to my place so you can have a bit to calm down and process your feelings. Then, if you want to talk, I'll listen." 

They walked quietly. Adrien knew he had important things to do. Still, his mind was in such turmoil that he couldn't think straight, flashing back constantly to memories of the attacks by Hawk Moth, and then remembering the father who had used the Ladybug Miraculous to save him from an Akuma. Had his father really not cared at all?

Maybe it had been to bring his Mom back, but she seemed fine. Was there more to her return than met the eye? Even so, Plagg was still seemingly unaware of this, so that meant the wish hadn't been used. Nothing made sense anymore.

Luka sat him down, giving him a cup of green tea, "I've heard this is good for your heart." Adrien chuckled hollowly, sipping the warm drink absently, just going through the motions as he tried to push past the sheer _ betrayal _ twisting his insides.

"Thank you, Luka." He looked at the floor, "Is Marinette okay?"

"They're taking her to the doctor to make sure she's okay—she doesn't seem pleased about that though. Everyone else is forming plans to protect Cole from Queen Pavo." 

"Protect... Cole?" He thought about it and realized that Plagg had managed to befriend everyone. The same God of Destruction, who often said he only needed cheese, had managed to win over everyone in his class.

But the mention of "Cole" brought his mind a little more back to the present, "Luka, can I ask your advice?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"What would you do if—if you just found out someone you had known for a long time had betrayed you and possibly had only pretended to care about you. But you know you will have to face that person to do what's right, even if you are powerless unlike ever before." He looked up nervously to see what Luka would say. Would he be judged? 

Luka was quiet, strumming a sad melody on his guitar, clearly deep in thought. And after a moment, Luka put down the guitar and hugged him.

Unable to hold anything else in, Adrien clung to Luka and cried.

"I'm not going to tell you that you have to do anything, but you should do what you believe is right, and remember when facing this person that you are not alone. Everyone is here to support you. It's not going to be easy—I won't lie to you and say that it is. But if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

Adrien nodded, taking deep breaths and trying to prioritize, and it was at this moment, he realized what a monumental mistake he had made in running. He had left Plagg with his parents! Sure, Felix and Nino were there, but would that stop anything?

"Adrien! Where are you?"

They both looked up and heard Nathalie, knocking on the door to the houseboat. Luka gestured for Adrien to keep quiet, but Adrien bit his lip and stood after finishing off the last of his tea, standing tall and knowing what had to be done. He needed to protect Plagg—the one who had done so much for him, his friend through thick and thin. 

Luka opened the door, "Oh, hello, Miss—"

"Adrien, you ran off." Nathalie scolded him, and Adrien instinctively shrunk down, "You need to be more careful, given your condition."

"I'm fine." Adrien looked to Luka, waving, "Thanks again, Luka. I know what I have to do," he cringed at how he said it, as though this was going to be just another villain. It was, but this time there was so much more to it—these were his parents!

Luka waved, "Good luck, Adrien." Nathalie guided Adrien off the boat, her brow furrowing as she realized there was something different.

"Adrien, what happened?"

"I know everything, Nathalie." He blurted, glaring, "About Mom and Dad, that they are not the loving parents I thought they were, and that you are probably Mayura." 

Nathalie's eyes widened, before sighing as they walked in the direction of the mansion. Adrien would run away from her if his whole body wasn't trembling, "Adrien, I can't say anything about your mother, but your father loves you and just wanted to restore your family. Things are more complicated than you think, so please hear your father out before you act."

He flashed back to being under Mayura's foot, his boot pressing against his wrist, dangerously close to snapping it. Nathalie hadn't known and still didn't, he tried to tell himself, but it brought him no comfort. 

...

Nathalie saw that broken and enraged look on Adrien's face. This had all gone so wrong—bringing Emilie back... she had hoped it would restore this family, and now it seemed Adrien had been turned against his father who loved him dearly.

Cole. Cole seemed to be the key to bringing them together. Surely if Adrien knew his father was trying to save Cole, not to get the Cat power, but just to save his life, then he would calm down.

"Your father is now planning a way to get the power out of Cole, to save him. He just wants to save Cole so you will all be a family."

Adrien's eyes widened with a terror, unlike any other, "What? No! You don't understand!" He grabbed Nathalie's arms, shaking her, "If that's even possible, that could—" he gasped, and then broke into a sprint towards the mansion. 

She pulled out the Miraculous she had grabbed earlier, "Longg, bring the storm!" She transformed and chased after Adrien to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

Did Adrien know something they didn't? The way he had reacted...

Could extracting the power from Cole actually kill him? But why? Wouldn't removing the thing that was killing him save his life?

Either way, if Adrien did, in fact, know something they didn't, she had to stop Gabriel from going through with this, or she could only imagine the consequences. 

...

Cole coughed as he was cradled in Gabriel's arms. Felix was insisting and chasing him down the stairs that Cole needed to lay down and sleep, but Gabriel just had Gorilla keep the teenager back. This would save Cole—he didn't expect Felix to understand yet.

"Where are we going?" Cole asked weakly, with bleary cat-like eyes. Gabriel sucked in a breath seeing those eyes, meaning Cole most likely didn't have long, and this was killing him faster than expected. 

"Somewhere safe, and quiet," he assured, brushing back a strand of Cole's raven hair out of his face, "I think I found a way to help you. Just go to sleep, you'll feel better soon." 

_ Please, don't let this hurt him. I don't want him to be in any more pain. _

He thought back to hearing Adrien had run off. Why had Adrien run? Was it because he had seen the change in Cole's eyes and knew Cole could die? He had wanted to chase after his son himself, but Emilie had said this was the ideal time to take Cole and do what had to be done, so Nino and Nathalie had both run and split up to find him. He hoped they could get this done quickly, and all of them could be a perfect, happy family.

This would be a surprise when Adrien got home—Cole, no longer sick or cursed. That would be ideal, and he could imagine the smile on Adrien's face. And Cole, accepted into the family and not living on borrowed time. 

He walked across the walkway in the basement, to the far end where Emilie had slept for so long. She was transformed, Amelie by her side, and the bed she had been comatose in was laid flat like an alter, which Gabriel set Cole onto.

"Now," Amelie gave the passed out Cole a look that sent uncomfortable shivers up Gabriel's spine, "Shall we get started?"

**Author's Note:**

> I have had this idea in my head for so long, and decided "screw it, let's do it"
> 
> Fun fact: Broken Heart Syndrome is a real thing.


End file.
